


Satisfied

by oliviaandersonisntmyrealnamelol



Series: Satisfied and its various outtakes [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bruce Wayne is Batman, F/M, Happy Ending, No Smut, but most of them come back so its fine, dang i never realized how short my paragraphs were until this, listen, most of them - Freeform, people die, timinette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:48:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 54
Words: 85,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26948503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oliviaandersonisntmyrealnamelol/pseuds/oliviaandersonisntmyrealnamelol
Summary: After defeating Hawkmoth, Marinette has nothing left. No reason to stay in Paris outside of parents, who are more than eager to get her out of the toxic environment there. So, when she gets a job offer from Audrey Bourgeois that will both get her into the fashion world and out of Paris? She has no reason to refuse. Especially if the place she's going is the most interesting place in the world.
Relationships: Tim Drake/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Satisfied and its various outtakes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2116626
Comments: 222
Kudos: 695
Collections: Works good enough I will definitely reread





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posting on Tumblr (@olivia-anderson-fanfic) where I answer questions and stuff. This is my first fic on this website so if I do something stupid then just tell me I won't be offended.

After four years of fighting, at age 18, they defeated Hawkmoth.

Ladybug sat on the rooftop, watching Gabriel Agreste get pushed into a police car with his assistant Nathalie. She thought that she would be excited when she finally defeated him but all she felt was numb.

There was nothing left for her in Paris.

Of course, this could just be taken in the sense of her running out of bad guys to catch. This was bad, obviously, it had taken away her major hobby and basically what had become her purpose in life.

But, on a far more personal level, she had nothing left in Paris.

Lila had swayed all her school friends to the other side.

Adrien was the last one to go. Despite knowing that everything she’d been saying was false, he’d continued to refuse to speak up about it. They’d stopped talking.

After a while, she’d formed a temporary alliance with Chloe over their mutual hatred of Lila but then her mother had whisked her away to America so they could bond more.

Now her school days were spent all alone, telling herself to take it one day at a time.

Luka was off at university. He was swamped in schoolwork and she was lucky to facetime him twice a month.

Kagami had, unfortunately, not talked to her since Adrien had last done so. There weren’t any hard feelings but with so little overlap they grew apart naturally.

Her parents were the only things she had left but they had recently been insisting she should go out for university. Had she been hiding what was going on so poorly?

Though, recently, she’d been lacking in school. Obviously, there was the whole ‘every person in the class is against her’ thing but, beyond that, she’d been spending most of the past year investigating Hawkmoth. Her grades were too low for most high-end colleges to accept. Her best bet was to get some experience and go back to school at some later date.

She didn’t know where to start, though. Working at her parents’ bakery would likely end in her working there for the rest of her life (she liked baking but not enough to make a career out of it!). Being a professional gamer was unlikely. All that was left was designing but getting a big break would be difficult...

But then she’d gotten a call.

Chloe.

Her eyes widened as she picked up the phone, bringing it to her ear. She hadn’t talked to her in ages, so why...?

“Is this Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”

Not Chloe.

“Yes, Mme. Bourgeois. Why?”

“You’re looking for a job, preferably in the style industry, is that correct?”

She nodded a bit, then realized she couldn’t see. “Yes,” she said hastily. She didn’t bother asking how she’d known. Rich people's powers included the ability to know way more than you’re comfortable with.

“How would you like to come to work for my magazine?”

Her eyes widened. This was the big break she was hoping for--!

“Before you answer, you should know that you will be coming here. To America.”

Marinette hesitated here. Sure, nothing was left for her in Paris outside of her parents, who were already anxious for her to leave, but...

This was her home. This was where she had grown up. She’d never seriously considered leaving.

“Where exactly will I be?” She asked, feeling a bit lame.

Audrey hesitated for the first time ever. She had clearly hoped this question wouldn’t come up. Still, she told her: “Gotham City.”

Gotham City... where had she heard of that before? She wedged the phone between her ear and her shoulder and turned to her computer. A simple search of the name said exactly why.

She broke into a grin.

“I would love to go.”

~

She was finished packing her things. She’d sent a couple of cookies to her old classmates to say ‘no hard feelings’ (even if, maybe, there was). There was only one more thing to do.

When she’d reached the rooftop, Chat Noir was already there.

“Little kitty on a roof...”

He cut himself off when he heard her footsteps.

She took a seat next to him.

“What’s the call for, My Lady?” He said, that Cheshire grin as prominent as ever. A quick glance at his eyes showed it was fake, though. The question was merely a formality. They knew each other’s identities, he must have gotten the cookies by that point.

“I’m leaving, Chaton.”

His eyes fell to the ground many stories below. “You don’t have to go yet, Paris still has crime and --.”

“You and I both know it’s nothing compared to him.”

Adrien didn’t answer. It was true. Petty crime could never hold up to Hawkmoth. But you know what could? Other supervillains.

“Would you consider staying for me?” He asked, his voice so quiet she barely managed to hear it. But she did.

Her fists clenched.

“We didn’t talk for years before our reveal, Chat! Even if we are friends, you clearly don’t care about me for me! All you care about is Ladybug!”

“But you are Ladybug!” He said.

She shook her head. “Ladybug isn’t the real me. Just like ‘Adrien Agreste’ isn’t the real you.”

He didn’t respond. Couldn’t. How was he supposed to? She wasn’t wrong about him lying about who he was to appease his father, Chat Noir was the closest to his real personality as he got. And if she said that Ladybug was for her what Adrien Agreste was for him...

He stared at the ground. “I don’t want to give it up. Chat Noir is me.”

Her face took on a softness he hadn’t seen in a long time. She reached out and took his hand. “You don’t have to hide who you are anymore, Chat. You have money now and you can do whatever you want. It’s time to be yourself, no?”

Adrien didn’t say anything as Marinette slid the ring from his finger. Plagg popped out.

“May --... can we have a minute?”

She nodded and left. Plagg would come to her on his own eventually.

And he did. She decided not to say anything about the fact that the small god was crying. If he wanted to talk about it, he would. He wasn’t, and she would respect that.

The next day, she kissed her parents goodbye and promised to write every day.

She stepped onto the Bourgeois private jet.

And she was off to Gotham.


	2. Chapter 2

The flight lasted far shorter than she thought it would, all because her thoughts were on one thing -- or, rather, one person: Chloe Bourgeois.

They’d somewhat had a truce with Lila around but now? There was no reason for them to play nice. She wasn’t eager to go back to the way things were. Hopefully, Audrey would make her be nice, or maybe she’d grown as a person since she’d left Paris, or they just wouldn’t see each other.

Her hopes were botched the moment the jet touched the ground.

The moment she had gotten within ten feet of Chloe, the girl’s lip curled in disgust.

Marinette sighed. It was nice to hope, at least.

She gave her a small wave. “Hey, Chloe! How has life in America been?” She asked, shuffling from foot to foot. She couldn’t expect the girl to become a better person if she didn’t try to do so herself.

Chloe’s scornful expression morphed into one of surprise. She hesitated for a second before her expression hardened again. “Don’t you have unpacking to do?”

“Would you like to help?”

There was a scoff. “Like a commoner? I’d rather die!” She said, turning on her heel and stalking off.

She reached the tiny apartment and couldn’t help but feel disappointed. These people were unbelievably rich, they couldn’t afford her more than a one-roomer? Still, it was nice of them to pay for her rent for the first few months. She set down her bags and looked around the mostly blank room.

Honestly, how did they expect her to work in a place as dull as this?

She shook her head and got to work.

~

After a day’s work, she’d managed to at least unpack everything she’d need for the night. Her bed was made, food put away, and toiletries located. She looked around at the little progress she’d made and sighed quietly.

Tikki poked her head out for the first time in a while. She’d been looking almost sickly for the past day. Marinette had thought that maybe she just got sick on plane rides but they’d been off for hours. She should have been better by that point.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, keeping her voice soft so no neighbors could hear through the thin walls.

The tiny god sighed. “Remember how Master Fu mentioned how Plagg and I are two halves of the same whole?”

“Yeeees?” Marinette said.

“When Plagg isn’t active, I tend to feel weaker.”

The designer’s eyebrows knit together with worry. It had only been a day since Chat had gone inactive, why was it taking effect so soon? Did this mean that she’d need a new partner immediately if she wanted to continue being Ladybug? Why wasn’t she allowed even a few days to mourn the loss of her partner?

And it wasn’t as if she could go grab someone off the street, either. Ethics and sentimentality aside, miraculi only bind to certain personalities. She could tell when people met the criteria but the cat miraculous was tricky. People who held the cat miraculous were to be chaotic, though if they were too chaotic they had a tendency to become corrupted.

She sighed and toyed with her own miraculous. She couldn’t properly bond with any others, so she was either to give up her own for a while so she could find a new partner or she would have to limit her use of the miraculous until then.

She let it go and picked up her bag, giving Tikki a tiny head rub.

What? You couldn’t really expect her to go defenseless in the most dangerous city in the world, could you?


	3. Chapter 3

She stepped out the door and, after making sure she’d locked it about five times, left the house.

It was a surprise to her that it was getting dark already. She had been feeling wide awake, though that was probably jet lag now that she thought about it.

Whatever. Gotham was awake at all hours of the day and night, if only to try and deter crime.

She hugged her stomach as it growled and glanced back the way she’d come. She’d unpacked her food but, unfortunately, had forgotten to take out any cooking things. Besides, she was exhausted from unpacking. Cooking or baking wasn’t really an option at the minute.

She pulled up her phone and started scrolling through the different cafes and bakeries in the area, walking around as she read through reviews.

Yes, you read right: walking around without paying attention... in Gotham.

Hardly even ten minutes in, she felt a tug on the hem of her shirt and glanced down to find Tikki trying to get her attention as inconspicuously as possible in the tiny crowd around her.

“I know, I know, I’ll make sure to get you some cookies,” she murmured absently, still looking at her phone.

The tugging only got more insistent and she sighed. She glanced around and found an empty alleyway, taking a step toward it.

Then, she felt it. She wasn’t sure how she’d not felt it before, honestly, the evil intent was so strong that it made her skin crawl.

She chanced a look back.

Who was it? No one was looking at her, no one had stopped walking when she did. So their target likely wasn’t her. But who was the evil one? Was it all of them? They didn’t have classic supervillain outfits on, so who could it be?

And their target...

There was one other woman in the group. Could it be her? Or maybe the little kid walking with his father? The teen walking alone?

She walked faster towards the alley and ducked behind a dumpster.

“Tikki, spots on!”

Within the second she was back in her ladybug outfit. Well, a version of it. Over the years, as she’d become a stronger ladybug, her outfit had gained intricacies and details until it was basically unrecognizable save for the red and black color scheme. Now, though, she was back in her original jumpsuit. She tried not to think of what that meant for Tikki as she swung onto the rooftop.


	4. Chapter 4

Marinette followed after the group, watching from the rooftops. 

While it didn’t seem like any of them knew each other (outside of the father and son), they were all walking as a tightknit group. She watched with vague interest as, occasionally, someone would break off or join. She supposed it made sense, they were in Gotham after all. Of course they would have systems to try and keep as safe as possible.

However, this amusement was lost the moment the father and son broke off. Normally, this would have been fine, but at the next turn the teenager took a turn as well.

It could have been a coincidence that they were near each other... but then why wouldn’t the teen have gone with the dad and kid?

Her eyes narrowed and she hopped over to the roof between the two alleys.

On the left was the father and son, who were struggling to get past a particularly feral group of stray cats.

On the right was the teen. They upped their speed to a light jog, pulling their hood up over their face. They turned the corner and...

Pulled a gun.

She walked to the edge and tossed her yoyo to catch on the nearest stable thing on the next building over and counted out the seconds until he would be in the perfect spot.

She swung down, her leg out to kick him in the head.

It was here, halfway through her kick, that she remembered that this wasn’t an akuma. This was just a regular person. Those were much more fragile.

She couldn’t really change trajectory in midair, though. All she could do was angle her kick lower a little lower, to their shoulder.

He turned, probably sensing her gaze. His eyes widened in a mix of shock and fear as he brought his gun up -- too slow -- and braced himself for impact.

There was a sickening crack as her foot connected with his chest.

He went flying into the wall but she couldn’t spare the time to worry about him as she pushed off from his chest, pulling her yoyo back to her.

She picked up the gun and tucked it into her belt.

She glanced back for the father and son. They were running out the way they’d come. Good. As long as they were safe --.

A fist connected with the side of her head, throwing her back a bit. She had assumed that with a hit like that he would have been down for the count but she hadn’t taken into account the adrenaline he would have had if he managed to stay conscious.

Her latched her yoyo to her belt to make sure she couldn’t feel tempted to use her Lucky Charm.

She brought her hand up to block the kick to her stomach he’d thrown in hopes to catch her off-guard.

Amateur, she thought vaguely.

She grabbed his foot and pulled him off-balance, her free hand coming up to sock him.

There was a whirl of silver.

The teen was yanked from her grip. He hit the wall behind him for the second time that day but this time she could see something silver sprouting from the fabric of his hoodie.

Was that a shuriken?

The teen struggled to pull out the shuriken for a second but, with three more flashes of silver, he was pinned to the wall.

She’d seen the trajectory on the last one, and followed it back up to where someone was on the roof. She didn’t need to wait long to get a good look at him, though, because he dropped to the floor beside her.

“That was my arrest,” she said, her nose scrunching up in distaste (both at the fact that he had stolen her win and the outfit).

Robin walked right past her, to the teen, and gave him a quick hit to the head. The kid stopped moving. He nodded once and turned back to face her. "I don’t see why you care.”

“Because I’m the one who went through the effort to save that kid and his dad! You don’t just go and steal someone’s win last second!”

He raised his eyebrows. “Your point?”

“My point, is that you can’t just rush in and get the last hit! I worked hard for it!”

Robin sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “You can have the arrest, I don’t mind giving it to you.”

“Giving it to me?”

“Sure. I’ll let you take him in.”

She clenched her fists. “Let me?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Would you prefer I say this in French?”

She brought a hand to her mouth. In her anger, she hadn’t realized she’d been speaking with her accent. She had wanted to try and fake one for a while, at least until she’d managed to get her way to an American one, so she’d be able to claim it was a coincidence that she’d had similar a look and theme as the one in Paris.

She narrowed her eyes at him. Ultimately, it wasn’t about the arrest or even the last hit. It was about the fact that he was being an absolute prick about it. Acting like it was some honor that he wasn’t going to prevent her from getting an arrest she had rightfully earned.

But, as mad as that made her, she wasn’t going to argue further. He knew what her actual voice sounded like, she couldn’t really risk making him too angry.

“I’m an American,” she told him.

He snickered. “Are you?”

“Yup,” she said, pulling out the shuriken and shoving them into his hands.

She pulled out her yoyo, all to aware that he was staring at her, and bound the teen as tightly as she could without hurting him further.

“You have a weird weapon.”

“Thanks,” she muttered sarcastically, throwing the teen over her shoulder and sending Robin a glare as she set off towards the police station.


	5. Chapter 5

She was refusing the change back. She knew what would happen when she did, and Marinette wasn’t at all ready to face a scolding.

She had already handed the teen over to the police and was now on her way to a bakery one of the cops had suggested. This was fine, she could do this as Ladybug. Even superheroes need a cookie sometimes.

What she could not do was walk home in full costume. She had managed to keep the entirety of Paris in the dark about her identity for four years, she was not going to let people find out now.

But would it really be so bad if she never transformed out? Tikki wouldn’t be able to scold her if she didn’t...

Fine, she thought, ducking into a back alley. She ducked into a back alley and, after making sure no one was coming through, mumbled a “spots off.”

The moment Tikki flew out of her earrings, Marinette was on her way out the other side. The kwami barely got out a protestant “Marinette!” before diving into her purse.

She glanced at the address again and joined a group heading that way.

~

Marinette sighed as she unlocked the door to her apartment. She couldn’t really avoid it anymore. Daylight was coming, she’d been up all night to avoid the incoming lecture with the pretense of making sure people got home safely.

She closed the door behind herself and winced as she saw a blur of black and red.

“Are you ready to talk now?” The kwami said, hands on her hips.

Marinette dropped onto her bed and buried her face in her pillow. “Not really,” came her muffled reply. “Tired.”

“And whose fault is that?”

“Crime people’s,” she muttered with a vague wave of her hand.

Tikki huffed. “You know that’s not true.”

She felt a weight settle onto the pillow and groaned, flipping onto her back.

Tikki was sitting by her head, nibbling at a cookie Marinette had given her. She had hoped that would be enough of a peace offering for her to drop the subject. Nope.

“You could sense it, couldn’t you?”

“Sense what?” She played dumb.

“He would be a good fit for the cat miraculous!”

Marinette grabbed the pillow from behind her head and pulled it over her face (displacing Tikki, who gave a small cry of annoyance). She screamed.

Once she had screamed her heart out, she pulled the pillow back down to rest on her chest. The god was hovering over her face with the very epitome of ‘I’m not mad, just disappointed’ etched on their face.

“You know he would work well! Surely, you could sense all the chaos!”

“Yeah, but we don’t know anything about him...”

“You know he’s already a hero, the chances of him getting corrupted are so small! He’s perfect!”

Her eyes found their way to where the miraculous box was hidden. She had been considering getting the kwamis a luxury dollhouse so they wouldn’t have to be cooped up in the box all day but now she was reconsidering. She did not want to get lectures from every single one in there.

Marinette clicked her tongue. “But Ladybug and Cha --... the person using the cat need to get along, and we don’t.”

Tikki crossed her arms over her chest. “Maybe you could talk it out with him --.”

The doorbell rang, cutting her off from whatever she was going to say. Marinette sprang up, glad for the excuse, and waved for Tikki to hide.

She gave the kwami three seconds before flinging the door open. “Hey!”

Chloe.

She should have just let Tikki go off on her.


	6. Chapter 6

She drummed her foot on the floor as she waited for the girl to say anything but, as time passed by, it became more and more apparent she wasn’t going to.

“Alright, what is it?” Marinette prompted.

Chloe seemed to snap out of her trance, blue eyes blinking rapidly before she rested her hands on her shoulders.

“It’s you!”

“It’s... me?”

“You’re ladybug!”

Shit.

“Whaaaaaat? No! I wouldn’t be ladybug! I can’t be!” She scrambled for a believable story that Chloe wouldn’t be able to disprove, but the girl had stopped listening to her mumbles.

She watched as the girl pulled out some paper.

The Gotham Times. There was a picture of her plastered on the front page, declaring her a new superhero/vigilante. She had expected press, the most crime-ridden city in the world would be stupid not to keep track of superheroes. She was more surprised to find out that Chloe read the newspaper.

“Okaaaay... I don’t see what that has to do with me.”

“Really? The day before you come here is the first time in years Chat and Ladybug weren’t spotted doing patrol. Then, the day you come, Ladybug turns up in the same place you did.”

She winced. That wasn’t great, but if that was all the evidence she had, then Marinette could blow it off as coincidence.

“This has to be a different person, though, probably someone new to the whole ‘Ladybug’ thing. This is the outfit she had at the beginning. Hers is way more advanced than this.”

Chloe shook her head irritably and started digging through her bag again.

She pulled out two pictures of Ladybug. One of them was from Chat’s official Instagram, a picture of her posing with her hand up in a peace sign that he’d taken when she was too sleep-deprived to think about it too much. The next was a more difficult picture to place; she was standing there, hands on her hips with an awkward at the camera.

“They’re obviously the same person. Unless this person happens to have the exact same haircut, same hair, eye, and skin color... which you also happen to have.”

Marinette bit her lip. This was not great but...

“Oh, and the last picture? It’s a photoshopped picture of you.”

Ah. Definitely not great.

She grabbed her by the arm and dragged her inside. There was no way she could just talk her way past that.

Her eyes wandered to where she had hidden the miraculous box. She could feel Pollen buzzing around inside it. So this must be why Chloe had said anything. She wanted her miraculous back.

It’s true, the girl was the best fit for the miraculous she had come across so far. But... she was Chloe! A selfish, rude, spoiled brat! She couldn’t just give in and give her a miraculous!

She bit the inside of her cheek, trying to think up a viable reason for why that couldn’t happen without making her upset--

Chloe wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Can I have your autograph? You’ve been my hero for years! I’ve always wanted to be like you someday!”

Marinette blinked. She was Chloe’s hero? She didn’t know if that should make her proud or unsettle her.

“Uh... sure,” she said, awkwardly detaching herself from her. She went to her sketchbook and, as painful as it was, ripped out a blank piece of paper and scrawled her autograph across it.

The blonde beamed and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you so much, La-Marinette! Marinette.” She hugged the autograph to her chest and left, a wide smile on her face.

Marinette stared after her.

What just happened?


	7. Chapter 7

How do you explain to someone that has never worked for themself in their life that manual labor, on your own, tends to take time?

It had been only three days since Marinette had moved in (and this is counting the day she arrived at Gotham), and Audrey Bourgeois was already asking her to make an outfit.

Nevermind the fact that her apartment was still lacking that inspired feel of her house at home. Nevermind that it was difficult to even concentrate on designing in a completely blank room, her mind used to and finding comfort in the clutter of her old place.

Nevermind she’d spent the last two nights up, doing patrol. This wasn’t abnormal for her, her body had long since given up on the idea of getting a full night’s rest. Still, her body was exhausted from putting everything in its place all day yesterday, and on top of that, she’d been pushing herself to run around all night checking for crime.

This wasn’t required of her, she knew, but she’d already decided that if that was how Robin was then she’d like to make sure the city was properly protected.

Basically, she was exhausted. Even the idea of designing, something she thoroughly enjoyed, was daunting.

Still, Audrey wanted at least a sketch by the end of the week.

She pulled out her phone and looked up some of the nicest places to relax in the city. She found a restaurant with nice reviews and memorized the address. She didn’t want a repeat of the other day, when she’d been too distracted to notice that teen’s evil intent.

She grabbed her sketchbook, pencil, and bag (Tikki was asleep inside it), and head out.

She joined a group of people walking and hugged her sketchbook to her chest as she took up the role of lookout. It was hard for her, though, because, with all the looking around, she was able to really appreciate the architecture.

Gotham wasn’t at all like Paris, with its elegant architecture and pleasant colors, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t have its own beauty. Tall buildings stretched over them, casting dark shadows almost everywhere. Barred windows were everywhere, decorated with intricate designs.

Despite all the cold, tall buildings, it didn’t feel at all clinical or lifeless.

Ivy climbed the walls, using the bars and tiny cracks for purchase. Knotted trees could be found springing up in alleys at random, pushing against the sides of buildings as if trying to topple the concrete on their own. Cracks in sidewalks were littered with weeds and flowers. It almost felt like nature was attempting to take over; in wait of the day Gotham finally fell.

She blinked and shook her head. She was supposed to be on the lookout, she couldn’t get a design idea now! It wasn’t like she could just stop where she was walking and be both alone and distracted in Gotham.

Except... her eyes found their way to a tiny café with large windows.

She smiled and gave a wave as she broke off from the group, slipping inside. A quick glance around confirmed that she would need to buy something to sit, and another said that the place was expensive. She kind of regretted choosing it, but she needed to get her ideas down before she forgot.

She got to the counter and chewed on the inside of her cheek. If she’s going to pay that much, she may as well get her money’s worth.

“Can I have whatever your largest size is, with as much caffeine as you can legally give me, and, I don’t know, just pour like half a jar of sugar in as well. Whatever you do with the rest is whatever.”

The barista was looking more and more horrified by the second. Marinette vaguely wondered if she had underestimated the pricing until the barista finally spoke up:

“Dear god, there’s two of them.”

It was now that she realized, behind the girl’s glasses, she was looking somewhere else. She followed the woman’s gaze to where a guy was sitting by the window, clicking away at his laptop madly. In his lap was an almost comically large drink propped up on one of his knees. He drank it nonstop, not even pausing to breathe.

She snickered to herself and looked back up. Ah. It seemed she had also underestimated the pricing. Fun. She reluctantly handed over her card, giving her bank account a quiet apology, and stepped away to wait.

Marinette took her drink, the same size as the guy with the computer, and looked around. The only free window seat was...

She walked over. “Hello, may I sit here?”

The man gave a small nod and continued drinking.


	8. Chapter 8

Marinette stared at her blank paper. She’d taken too much time to get her drink and sit down, and now all she had was the vague idea of ‘flowers’. Not particularly helpful.

She drummed her fingers against the side of her cup absently, squinting out the window.

The stranger looked up after a while and rested his head on his hand, definitely annoyed by her incessant tapping. “You’re new here?”

She pulled her glare away, that poor building hadn’t done anything to deserve that. Her eyes found their way to the stranger. They had a very unhealthy look to them. Dark eyebags were prominent against nearly transparent skin. His hair had the look of someone who hadn’t properly washed it in ages, hanging limply around his face and ears.

“Do you come here that often? Know all the regulars?” She teased.

“Not how I knew,” he said. No denial of going often, though. “No one orders that size unless it’s their first time.”

She raised her eyebrows and looked down at her drink. It was a big cup, yes, but she drinks about that amount consistently anyways, just in different cups to make it feel less awful.

“I think I can handle it,” she said calmly, bringing the straw to her lips and beginning to drink.

He looked vaguely amused, rolling his eyes. “Sure. Can I have the rest when you’re done?”

She narrowed her eyes. The poor guy had no idea how big a mistake he’d made.

Marinette stared him down, removing the lid from her cup and starting to chug. The stranger seemed amused for the first few seconds, but his expression began to morph into fear the redder her face got. It was becoming more and more apparent that she wasn’t going to stop until she drowned, threw up, and/or choked.

And, the way things were going, none of those ideas would have been all that far-fetched.

“H-hey!” He sputtered. “I was kidding! You can stop now!”

She did stop, but not of her own volition.

He lunged across the table and yanked her hand away from her face. Coffee splattered everywhere, coating her skin and clothes.

His eyes widened as he stared at the mess he’d made. There was a beat where no one said anything. She could vaguely feel the other café-goers staring at them. The barista looked like she was about to commit a murder.

Then, the stranger seemed to finally process it. His face, somehow, went paler. “Oh! Sh-crap! I’ll get some napkins! And a new drink!”

He ran to the front and reordered her drink and then started trying to pull out napkins from the box they’d been tightly packed in.

She sipped at the remains of her drink, looking outside while she waited. Her eyes found their way back to the flowered ivy stretching up the walls, smiling to herself, when her brain finally managed to click back to her original train of thought.

She wiped her hands on the little dry area of her clothes (they were already ruined, it was a good thing they weren’t expensive or, god forbid, originals) and picked up her pencil and sketchbook.

She started with a vague outline of the dress: a simple, 50s circle dress. From there she started adding details, little, black, embroidered flowers that encircled the bottom and then converged. They climbed up the front, up to the waist, where she started to mold them together into a black stripe that encircled the stomach like a belt. In the center, where a buckle would have been, a red flower would be attached. From there up, the black embroidery would morph into tiny, red flowers that would extend from the dress, coating the upper half with the red.

Not her most complicated design, but she liked it.

It was just as she was finishing with the last flower that she realized she was being watched.

She whipped around, her hand swinging around, only for the person to dodge.

Oh. The guy was back with napkins. And her drink. For once, she was glad she had missed. She didn’t want to get coffee spilled on her for the second time that day.

“Sorry!” She cried.

The man shook his head quickly, holding up his hands placatingly. “No, no, it’s my fault for just standing there. That was creepy.”

She didn’t answer, and he carefully handed over the napkins, clearly wary of her after that. She didn’t blame him.

She began drying herself off. He set her drink down and sat back down.

She saw his eyes find their way to her design. She didn’t mind, he clearly wasn’t from the industry (it’s just something you can tell), and he seemed to like it, so that was good. At least her design held up, even if it was to the untrained eye.

She finished cleaning herself off and took her seat again, sipping at her drink as she looked at her design. She was mostly done, but she still needed to think on accessories...

“Is that your job?”

She looked up, surprised he had said anything. The first time he’d spoken up it was clearly just to get her to stop tapping, but this time she hadn’t been doing anything. He just wanted conversation.

She nodded. “Yep. I’m the new hire, so this dress is really important.”

“Well, if it means anything, I think it’s pretty good.”

Marinette shrugged. “Not really, but thank you.” She glanced at his computer. “Why are you here instead of at your... office.”

He grimaced. “I got banned.”

“From the office? But you still work there?”

“No, from the coffee machine.”

She gasped. “That’s horrible! How’re you supposed to live?”

“That’s what I said!” His lips twitched into a grin. “Jokes on them, though, I’m drinking more coffee here than I did there.”

“That’s good, at least.”

She smiled to herself as they fell into a comfortable silence, save for the clicking of his keyboard and the occasional scratch of her pencil. They felt like old friends, not like people who didn’t even know each other’s name. But, time went by, and eventually she had to start patrol soon.

She gathered her things and gave one last wave before turning around--.

“Wait!” She whipped back around and the stranger pushed themselves out of their chair. “Are you coming back?”

Marinette smiled, tipping her head to the side. “Don’t know, it’s kind of expensive here...”

He gave a shrug. “I’ll pay again. That’s why you did the whole coffee stunt in the first place, wasn’t it? So you could get extra?”

The way her eyes went wide gave her away.

He chuckled. “I knew, I just don’t mind.”

She opened her mind to protest. A one-time thing was one thing, but multiple times...

“Don’t worry, I can afford it.” He held out a hand to shake.

She smiled as she gripped his hand in hers. Her first handshake! Wait, what was she supposed to do now?

“I’m Tim, by the way.”

Ah. Introductions. Her head tipped to the side. “And I’m Marinette.”

With that, she left, with a promise that she’d be back sometime soon.

The barista looked like she wanted to cry.


	9. Chapter 9

She jumped from rooftop to rooftop, coffee still in hand (she wasn’t done yet, but she would finish it).

Patrol was always just walking around in hopes that you stop something, in Paris and in Gotham. She had expected it to be a bit easier, or a bit more productive, in the most crime-ridden city in the world. Apparently not.

She didn’t mind, though. As great as super-heroing is, she was exhausted. Mentally and physically.

She sipped at her drink. Hopefully, she could get rid of the physical aspect.

It was because of this exhaustion that she didn’t notice them until they were a few steps away. Granted, they were doing their best to be quiet and keep in time with her footsteps, so it wasn’t like it would have been easy. Usually, though, she would have at least felt their gazes.

She took a long sip of her drink. She knew at least one of the figures, she could feel the chaos radiating from him.

“What do you want?” She said, not bothering with her accent. As much as she wanted to hide that she was the same ladybug, Robin would have called her out on it if she’d tried to hide it. She’d just have to hope that whoever he was with was stupid.

She didn’t think she’d be that lucky, but it’s always good to hope.

When she didn’t get an answer, she spun on her heel and looked at the two.

The person with Robin, who she identified as Nightwing, gave an awkward smile and wave in her direction.

Great, so three people, none of whom want to talk to each other. There is no way this could go wrong.

“What do you want?” She repeated, her smile wearing thin.

Robin crossed his arms over his chest. “Who are you?”

“I’m Ladybug, of course.” She matched his posture with a cheeky grin.

“We’ve spent the last few days researching you,” explained Nightwing with an apologetic smile. “We looked up immigration records, plane flights, everything. No one matches your descriptions. You, frankly, don’t exist.”

She tapped her earrings. “That’s ‘cause of magic. It keeps people from finding out my identity if I don’t want them to.”

Nightwing blinked, then looked at his partner to see if it was a joke.

Robin, clearly, didn’t actually have any idea but he still gave a short laugh. “Magic? Really? Come on, just admit you came over from France illegally.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “For all you know, I could be faking this accent.”

He shook his head. “Nope, you were clearly upset when you realized I knew what language you spoke.”

She reached up and pinched his cheek. “It’s called acting, sweetie,” she teased.

He bat her hand away, unamused. “Fine, don’t answer that. How about you explain why records of ‘Ladybug’ go back thousands of years.”

She pouted a little bit. It had taken ages for her and Chat to figure this out. What kind of technology or influence could they have that gave them that much information? She didn’t want to let on that she was trying just as hard to figure out who he was as he was her, of course, so she settled for: “I already said magic. Besides, didn’t your mother tell you not to ask a woman her age?”

He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly and his mouth tightened. Hm, so his mother was a sore spot. Interesting. He turned around to leave, grabbing his partner’s arm. “I told you this would be useless, Nightwing. She’s not going to genuinely tell us anything. Let’s go.”

Speaking of Nightwing, he had been silent for too long. Her eyes flickered over to him to make sure he wasn’t going to try anything. He was staring at the drink hanging limply in her hand. She looked down, scared that she had forgotten to hide the logo, but it was all fine. So why...?

Robin groaned and jumped away when it was clear Nightwing wasn’t intending to leave just yet.

Nightwing seemed to snap out of it. He broke into a wide smile, holding out a hand for her to shake. “It’s been nice meeting you. Sorry about my... partner. He’s a bit annoying.”

She pretended not to think too much on the pause before ‘partner’. It was too ambiguous. Instead, she chose to focus on the fact that he seemed to find Robin just as annoying as she did. She reached out and took his hand, beaming. “It’s fine. It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Nightwing. I hope next time we can get to know each other without him around.”

He chuckled. “Just Nightwing would be fine. And that sounds great.” He gave one last wave before hopping away.

She sipped at her drink as he watched the two brightly-colored specks get smaller and smaller.

A smile poked at the corner of her lips. They could handle patrol for the night, she trusted Nightwing could keep his annoying partner in check, so she started heading home.

She had some research to do.


	10. Chapter 10

The moment she turned in her sketch to Aubrey Bourgeois, the woman set it on her desk and began flipping through some papers. Marinette hesitated for a few minutes, rocking on her feet as she tried to figure out if she was supposed to leave, until she eventually went to the door.

“Marinette.”

Her head popped up.

Audrey finally pulled out a laminated sheet and set it on the desk.

She stepped over to it and her eyes widened. She wasn’t great at reading in English yet, she’d learned mostly through movies, but that didn’t mean she was stupid. The words ‘Wayne Gala’ were written across the top in gorgeous cursive.

Ah, so that explained the sudden rush of orders for custom clothing she’d gotten recently.

Her eyes found their way to the date and she narrowed her eyes in confusion. There was no twenty-fifth month... wait, no, Americans wrote their dates weird. It was in December.

Four months away.

That sounds like a lot of time, but it really isn’t. Custom orders can take up to 2 months to finish on a 9-5 work schedule, and these required pretty extravagant outfits.

Marinette looked up at the woman with an awkward smile. “I don’t see what this has to do with me.”

“I’d like you to make my daughter and I’s outfits.”

She bit the inside of her cheek. She did have time...

Marinette smiled and nodded. “It would be an honor, Mme. Bourgeois.”

The walk home was filled with worry. Of course it was, she had no clue what she wanted to design. She knew that she wanted to go with a yellow, black, and white color scheme for each of them (she wanted to make sure it was within their styles, she could not afford to mess it up). Beyond the color scheme, though...

She dropped into her bed and pulled her computer over, staring at the millions of commissions that she’d gotten over the past few days. She refreshed the page and even more flooded in.

She’d been flattered when everyone suddenly had asked her, she’d thought she’d blown up or something, but this... She should have realized they all had similar deadlines.

She clicked through them, declining order after order, until two remained in her inbox.

Jagged Stone and Adrien Agreste.

She chewed on the inside of her cheek. She could decline. They would understand. But... Marinette didn’t think she could stand to see them in someone else’s work.

She accepted both requests.

Guess she’d take up Tim’s offer for coffee after all.  
~

The moment she stepped into the cafe, the barista groaned and rested her head in her hands.

Marinette smiled sheepishly and took a glance around. Tim was there, again, even at the same spot at the window. She wondered vaguely if he ever moved from there.

She walked over to Tim and plopped herself down in the seat across from him. His eyes sparkled with annoyance, until he looked up and saw who it was, and then they crinkled in a smile.

Marinette flopped on the table dramatically.

“What the --?”

“Cooooffeeeeeee,” she moaned.

His vaguely worried expression dropped and he rolled his eyes. As annoyed as he seemed by the girl, he still got up to get her coffee.

When he came back, giant cup in hand, she cheered. She sat up straight again and set her sketchbook on the table.

He smiled and went to his seat. “Didn’t think you would come back this quickly.”

“And miss out on free coffee?” She took a long sip of her drink and closed her eyes. “Never.”

Tim chuckled. “I can’t believe you’re using me for my money.”

She batted her eyelashes innocently. “You said I could. I’d be stupid not to take advantage of it.” Her eyes found their way to her sketchbook and she groaned.

“What?”

“I have to do five outfits by Christmas.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Is that bad?”

“Yes.”

“Decline some, then. Don’t overwork yourself.”

She gave him a look.

He gave a sheepish smile. “Listen, do as I say, not as I do.”

A grin broke across her face, but it dropped soon after. “I don’t want to let any of them down, they’re my friends.”

“If they’re your friends then they’d under --.” He was cut off as a napkin beaned him on the head.

“Stop giving me advice! Let me sulk!”

He rolled his eyes and shook his head slowly. “Fine, fine. Is there any way I can help?”

“Yeah, more coffee.”

A sigh escaped his lips. “I’m going to regret saying I’d pay, won’t I?”

“Yep! Now, coffee, slave.”

He groaned and got up to get her some more.


	11. Chapter 11

She looked around at the soft browns and reds of the café. The scenery was pleasant, but it had very little overlap with any styles she wanted for any of her customers.

This vague looking around quickly morphed into staring blankly at her sketchbook for almost an hour straight.

Marinette groaned and rested her head on the table, closing her eyes.

“Need more coffee already?” Came Tim’s voice.

She gave a tiny shake of her head. “Need new scenery,” she murmured into her arms.

Somehow, though, Tim heard her. The sound of his fingers on the keyboard stopped for a moment in surprise, and the café almost sounded incomplete without it.

He reached over and ruffled her hair. “Has anyone given you a tour of the city yet?”

“Nope,” she said. She’d gotten a pretty good look at the place on patrols, but he couldn’t know that.

There was a shifting sound and she looked up to find Tim taking out his phone. “What’re you...?”

He put the phone to his ear and tipped his head back as it rang. Eventually, he said: “Hey, I’m going to take the day off.”

There was a long silence from the other line. She winced as the person on the other sound screamed, she hadn’t wanted Tim to get scolded for missing --

“Yes, I’m fine. No, it’s not a prank. I’ve met someone -- not like that, Jay -- and I’m giving her a tour of the city. She just got here from France a while ago.”

The bit of chatter was cut off abruptly by a smashing sound from the phone. Tim didn’t seem all that concerned about it, though, so Marinette just listened in anxiously.

The man’s eyebrows knit together. “Yes, I met her at the coffee shop, Dick. What does it matter?” Then he blinked. His eyes found their way to her for a second and then he gave a short laugh. “You’re insane. Can I have time off or not?”

The chorus of ‘Yes!’ Please!’’s was so loud that Marinette heard it from across the table.

Tim grinned and set his phone down. “Guess who has a free day now.”

Marinette tapped her finger to her chin thoughtfully. “Who knows.” She stood slowly and glanced at their coffees.

He rolled his eyes and got them each another cup. With that, they were off.

“So, I guess I should ask what colors or ideas you have going.”

She sighed. “I’m thinking of green for Adrien. Yellow, black, and white for the Bourgeois-es. And for Jagged...” She waved her hands vaguely as she tried to think of how to translate the word. “A lot-ness.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Flashiness?”

“Sure.”

He closed his eyes and thought for a minute, then nodded to himself. “Right, I have an idea for Adrien’s.” His face reddened slightly. “I probably should have asked if you were willing to come, first, huh?”

Her head tipped to the side as she considered this. She really had only talked to the man a few times, could she really trust him? He’d gotten her coffee a few times without spiking it, which was a plus. He was also very obviously rich, which meant robbing her wouldn’t do much for him.

Her mind wandered back to how he’d dodged a punch the other day, though. His reaction time had been as quick as, if not faster, than hers. He was pretty well built, too. He had to know some kind of self-defense.

Still, he’d taken a day off of work for her. From the sound of the people on the other end of the line, this wasn’t a common occurrence. She chewed on the inside of her cheek and nodded.

He smiled and reached out to ruffle her hair.

Then, they were off.

Within a few blocks were the gardens dedicated to Poison Ivy. They stepped inside and Marinette went to her bag to pay on instinct, but Tim walked straight past the ticket counter and waved her along.

She frowned confusedly. “Don’t we need to pay...?”

“Nope, c’mon,” he chirped.

She glanced at the salesperson, who was a teen boy. He’d barely been awake when they walked in, but now he was wide awake. They had gone bolt upright at the sound of Tim’s voice, and were now stealing glances at the pair of them anxiously.

She slowly stepped towards Tim. Just who was this guy?

These nerves dissipated the moment she stepped into the atrium. She’d seen it from above a few times, but that was nothing compared to the way it was to be within it. Her eyes flicked from flower to flower as a wide smile stretched across her face.

She went to the nearest bench and started sketching for Adrien. Clothing for guys is always easier, they’re always expected to be in a suit, it’s just what you do on the suit that matters.

Tim was leaning in the doorway, absently scrolling through messages. His face was getting more and more tired by the second, but that wasn’t particularly weird for him so Marinette didn’t bother to question it.

Besides, if she didn’t get her ideas down on paper soon, she’d probably forget them.

She finished and kept walking through the rooms, smiling to herself. She’d gotten an idea for Jagged and Penny’s outfits in a room with bioluminescents. Then, after seeing an almost golden flower, had been able to get some inspiration for both Audrey and Chloe’s.

She beamed at all the designs. She was sure to change them over the four months, but it was good that she had general ideas for what she wanted to have them look like early on.

Finally, she looked at Tim. He’d been following her through the rooms at a casual pace, his face stuck in his phone.

She rolled her eyes and pulled the phone down, snapping him from his haze.

“This is your day off, remember? Stop working.”

He sighed. “This is my personal phone. My family is just being stupid.”

She gave him a skeptical look and he finally let go, letting Marinette check for herself.

Her eyes scanned over the messages without really paying attention to what the words meant and she nodded slowly. The tone was far too casual for anything for work.

She had started to hand back the phone when she finally processed some of the words she’d seen.

“'Bring her to dinner’?” She questioned, whipping the phone back around to scroll through them more thoroughly.

He gave little more than a weak shrug. “They think that you’re some kind of miracle since you got me out of work and want you to meet everyone.”

“Everyone?”

“In my family. There’s a lot of them. Don’t worry, you’re booked for at least the next twenty years from what I’ve told them.”

She raised an eyebrow and continued looking through it. “They’re good people?”

“Sure, but that doesn’t mean I want you to -- hey!”

She had started typing. They sprinted in circles around the tiny atrium, Marinette still struggling to type with all the movement, and Tim trying his hardest to catch her off-guard so he could get his phone back.

She hit send. The moment he heard the text tone, he stopped cold. He groaned. “Noooooooo.”

Marinette grinned. “I’ll see you at dinner in two days.”

“Nooooooo.”

“Yeeeees.”

Tim glared at her for a few seconds and swiped back his phone to check that the text she had sent had said that. He pouted a bit when it was, then whipped his head around to look at her, a dangerous look in his eyes: “I’m not paying for your coffee anymore.”

“Nooooooo!”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should mention that Damian is 18, Tim is 21, Jason is 23, and Dick is 25

She didn’t go to the coffee shop the next day. Partially because she wasn’t getting her overpriced coffee paid for (at least not without a lot of whining), but mostly because she wanted to do some research where people couldn’t see her.

She sighed as she flipped between all fifty of her tabs, resting her head on her hand. She could hear Tikki trying, and failing, to make her something to eat in the kitchen.

Who could the bat family be? They had to have a lot of influence and/or money to get as much information as they did. She flipped through the most wealthy people in Gotham and its surrounding area, but where was the cutoff? How was she to know that they weren’t middle-class people who saved for expensive things?

And then there was the tiny case of the near-slipup on the rooftops. Nightwing was about to call Robin something. He wouldn’t have been saying ‘friend’, he wouldn’t have had to pause like that. What had he been about to say? She hoped it wasn’t ‘boyfriend’, they had what seemed to be a 10 year age gap. Her best assumption was they were going to say ‘brother’, which implied at least most of the bat family was related.

Her eyes found their way to the tab with a picture of Bruce Wayne. He was standing alone, his kids never had pictures taken of them out of respect for their privacy, but everyone knew of his penchant for adopting kids with dark hair and blue eyes.

Great. She’ll never know, then. How was she, a designer, supposed to get close to the Bruce Wayne?  
~

On a completely unrelated note, the next day she stood outside of a gate with Tim. Her eyes locked on the weird symbol on the gate, trying to place where she’d seen it before, but her brain couldn’t seem to find it. Oh well, it was probably just one of the rich people she’d researched yesterday.

Tim placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “You can not let my dad adopt you.”

She gave a small eye roll, pushing his hands off and smoothing out her dress. It had taken forever to get a dress code out of Tim, because he insisted that ‘you could wear a burlap sack and my family would love you, just relax’, but he eventually just told her formal. Not helpful. There are levels of formal, Tim. She had settled for a plain red dress with a black belt.

“I don’t think my parents would be all that excited if I traded them out after a few days here.”

He nodded. “That’s good. Use that.”

“Use tha--?”

The gates swung open.

Tim took a deep breath as if to steel his nerves. “At least Damian isn’t here. You get to meet the nicest of the family first.”

“Why isn’t he here?”

“He got out of it,” he shrugged.

They stepped inside. She stared up at the high walls. She pulled out her phone and took a picture in case she messed up with Tim’s family so bad that she wasn’t allowed back.

The moment she walked in someone pulled her into a hug. “Thank you!” He cried.

Marinette blinked and gave him a short pat on the back. “You’re... welcome?”

He pulled away and held out a hand to shake. “Sorry, I was just so excited to meet the person who got him to take a day off. I’m Dick.”

“You’re... you’re what?” She said, her eyebrows shooting into her hair.

Dick rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh, right, French. I’m Richard but, in America, that gets shortened to ‘Dick’.”

She blinked once, then just chose to accept it. “Nice to meet you, I’m Marinette.”

“How’d you do it?”

She gave a small shrug as they began walking to the dining room. “I don’t know. He just offered.”

Dick sent her a skeptical look, then looked at his brother as if to confirm.

“In my defense, she looked really stressed.”

“More stressed than you usually do?” Came a voice from above. She looked up to see yet another guy leaning over a railing to look at them.

Marinette raised her eyebrows. “I thought you guys were adopted, how do you all look exactly the same?”

The newest grinned. “Dad’s got a type.” He hopped the railing and landed next to them.

She narrowed her eyes slightly as she took a better look at all of them. Tim’s dodge could be put down as self-defense, but hopping a railing and landing without getting hurt?

She blinked as a hand was thrust in her face and gave a weak smile. “I’m Marinette, nice to meet you.”

“Jason.”

Her brain was blaring alarms, trying desperately to tell her something, but it all came out as ‘AHDKFSFHDLKSNDG’, which wasn’t all that useful.

She shook his hand.

It wasn’t until she walked into the dining room and her eyes landed on the Bruce Wayne that she finally figured everything out. Her hands flew to her mouth as she stared at him in stunned silence.

Then she wheeled on Tim and pulled him down by the collar of his shirt. “You’ve been a Wayne this whole time? Why didn’t you tell me?”

He had the decency to look sheepish. “I didn’t want you to use me for my money.”

“Please, I knew you were rich from the get-go, it wouldn’t have mattered if you were ‘goes to Disney twice a year’ rich or ‘could buy Disney if you wanted’ rich. You should have at least warned me outside the gate!”

Bruce dropped something on the desk and Marinette squeaked quietly, letting go of her captive. It was a file of some sort. Crap, was this an interrogation or something? Was that a rich people thing? Do they do in-depth research on people that talk to their kids?

The man slid the file over and she opened it to see... adoption papers?

“Wow, you really weren’t kidding,” she mumbled as she flipped through them. She glanced up at Bruce. “How did you get these so fast?”

“I have them on me at all times at this point,” he explained.

She blinked a few times and then slowly closed the file. “I’m sorry, but I have parents already.”

Everyone (except Tim) seemed stunned. She heard Jason whisper: “Is that allowed?”

Despite the slight confusion, everyone took a seat at the table. There were quite a few seats, but she was amused to see all the kids opting to sit next to her.

Dick rested his head on his hands from his spot across the table. “So, what do you know about Ladybug?”

She did her best not to tense.

“Subtle,” said Jason sarcastically from her right. He turned back to her and gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry, ‘bout that. He’s been obsessed since she appeared, and most of his research has been a dead end. He’s grasping at straws.”

She forced a small laugh. “I’m too klutzy to ever be Ladybug, you can ask anyone.”

Dick groaned. “And I don’t suppose you know who it is?”

“Nope.”

Jason, apparently eager to change the subject every two seconds, asked: “How’d you two meet?”

She glanced at Tim, who was shaking his head so fast she thought it’d pop off, then turned back to his brothers and father. “We met at the coffee shop. He spilled coffee on me.”

She heard Tim’s head hit the table as he groaned.

Jason was cackling. “Awwww, Tim is in a coffeeshop AU!”

Dick grinned. “Next you’ll tell me he offered you free drinks for life or something.”

“Well, actually,--.”

She couldn’t even finish, Jason was laughing so hard.

Bruce seemed less amused. “I would hope that he did, and for the shirt. too.”

She smirked and looked at Tim, who seemed to sense what she was going to do before she did it. He sent her a short look, a ‘don’t you dare’, before she spoke: “Actually, he revoked my coffee privileges.”

The poor kid sighed and closed his eyes. His father was glaring daggers at him, so, after a few seconds of him struggling, he finally gave in. “Fine, I’ll pay for coffee again.”

She cheered and gave Jason a high five.

Dick rolled his eyes. “You’re children.”

“Like you’re so much better!” Complained Jason. “You’re only two years older than me!”

Marinette rolled her eyes and reached out to poke Tim’s face until he finally looked over at her.

“He lives!” She cheered softly and he shook his head and sat up some, a smile playing across his lips.

Bruce chuckled and leaned back in his chair. He’d been watching the four for a little while. They seemed like they’d get along...

“Tim, have you invited her yet?”

Tim went red.

“I’ll take that as a no. Do you want to do it or should I?”

The kid took a deep breath to steel himself, then gently poked her shoulder for her attention. The moment she looked at him, though, he froze and couldn’t seem to get any words out.

Marinette’s head tipped to the side. “Um...?”

Bruce rolled his eyes. “I’d like to, on behalf of my son, invite you to the Wayne Gala.”

To everyone’s surprise, the girl didn’t smile, or thank him, or really react positively at all.

Marinette released a quiet sound, like a balloon deflating, as she slumped into her seat and covered her face in her hands. Tim rubbed her shoulder comfortingly.

“What’s wrong?” Came Dick’s voice.

“Six!” She cried.

“You have something against musicals?” Said Jason.

She lowered her hands just enough to glare at him. “I have to make six outfits in four months.”

“You don’t have --,” began Tim.

“I have to! Make! Six outfits! In four months!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should mention that Damian is 18, Tim is 21, Jason is 23, and Dick is 25


	13. Chapter 13

Her head reeled as she got in the limo that Bruce had prepared to get her home. She’d gotten the Wayne’s numbers. She was allowed to come back at any time. She apparently had an honorary bedroom to decorate already.

She fidgeted with the coffee she’d brought from home, still trying to get rid of the nervous energy from the night. It doesn’t matter how much time you have to prepare yourself or how nice the family is, meeting a friend’s family is a nerve-wracking experience.

Her eyes found their way to Tim across from her. He had his head in his hands like he was nursing a headache.

Marinette glanced at her drink and handed it over. “Caffeine withdrawals already?”

He looked up and smiled, taking it before speaking: “It’s not that, but thanks.”

She pouted. “Well, if it’s not that then you have to give it back!”

Tim laughed and took a sip, then his nose scrunched up and he handed it back. “Gladly. What type of coffee is that?”

She shrugged. “Instant.”

“Why?”

“Cheaper.”

His eyebrows knit together. “Do you need any help?”

She rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat. “Just because I go for cheaper things when I can doesn’t mean I’m broke, it just means that I don’t spend money where I don’t have to.”

“Yeah, but that’s awful.”

“Not if you drink it fast enough,” she shrugged. “Weren’t you adopted, though? Wasn’t there a time where you didn’t have, I don’t know, millions of dollars to sit on?”

His face reddened slightly. “Um... about that... I was kinda rich from the getgo.”

She snickered. “The ultimate rich kid, huh? Does the money stack or can you even tell at this point?”

All he could do was grin before the car came to a stop. She glanced up and realized that it wasn’t a stoplight, she was actually at her place. That was quick. Maybe she should learn to drive.

She smiled as Tim walked her up to the apartment and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “That was fun. Terrifying. But fun.”

He grinned. “I’m glad you liked them. And, now that you’ve met my family, you don’t have to go back!”

“Incorrect.” She stepped inside and slipped off her shoes. “I’m going back every day.”

He groaned. “No, don’t do that. I can only keep you and Damian apart for so long! There are only so many excuses!”

She walked to her mirror and started pulling bobby pins from her hair. “Don’t even see why you’re doing that.”

“It would be a disaster.”

She gave only a short laugh in response.

“No, really! You guys are way too different to get along, and he’s not exactly the most pleasant person to be around at first.”

Her hair came down in an awkward poof over her head and she sighed as she continued to run her fingers through the mess to try and fix it. “Bet you a coffee that it’ll go fine.”

“A coffee that I would already be paying for?”

Marinette snickered. “Of course,” she said, wiping her face.

“Great.” She could almost feel his eye roll. “But, seriously, the longer it takes for you two to meet, the better. Maybe I can postpone it until one of you dies stupidly. Preferably him, but.”

She finally turned back to look at him and couldn’t help but snicker. He was still hovering in the doorway, apparently unable to come in without express permission to do so.

“I guess I’ll be stopping by Wayne Manor a lot for the next few weeks.”

“You wouldn’t. I’ll revoke your coffee privileges again.”

She didn’t even blink, rifling through her purse for a few seconds to pull out her phone. He frowned curiously as she pulled up her texts. “Mr. Wayne...”

His eyes widened and he finally came in, if only to try and snatch the phone from her hands. She grinned as she dodged his grab and slid away on her socks.

“Have those rich people not taught you that you shouldn’t wear shoes inside?”

He huffed and slipped off his shoes, tossing them at the door and making another lunge for her. She ducked out of the way and then ran to her kitchen area. But now he was blocking her only real exit. Great plan.

She laughed and tried to still look confident, but her eyes were darting around anxiously for escape. “Just give my privileges back and I won’t send anything,” she cooed.

Tim smiled smugly, apparently aware he had won. “No. I don’t think I will.”

She typed a bit and mumbled along: “Please tell Tim to give me back my coffee privileges.”

His smile dropped as her finger hovered over the send button.

They were at a standstill. She couldn’t really run (well, she could technically hop the counter, but that wasn’t exactly a thing normal people could do). Any slow attempts for him would end in her pressing the button, and any fast ones might startle her into pressing it anyways.

He sighed. “Fine. I really need to stop letting you grab phones... You can come once a week.”

She grinned and let her hand fall to her side. “Twice.”

“I won’t let you in.”

“Jason would.”

He shrugged. “Not if I explained why I was doing it.”

She pouted. “C’mon, pleeeease?”

He looked at the puppy-dog eyes. Big mistake. He groaned and threw his hands up in defeat. “Fine. Fine. Twice a week.”

She grinned and wrapped him in a hug. “You won’t regret it!”

“Definitely will, but...” He smiled and hugged back, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “See you tomorrow?”

She nodded and pulled away. “Of course. You’re paying, after all.”


	14. Chapter 14

She rested her head on her arm as she stared at the ceiling, waiting for the familiar chime of her phone.

She’d learned over her very short time in Gotham that it was pretty much customary to ask someone to send a text saying they got home safely after hanging out with them. So, she waited.

Tikki was already asleep, resting on Marinette’s stomach. She didn’t mind. Even with her open curtains, if someone saw the kwami they would assume it was a stuffed animal of some sort.

Her phone chimed and she glanced over to see a message from Tim. She pulled up their chat.

Coffeeismygirlfriend: Got home safely. Good night! Sleep well!

She rolled his eyes. So formal. Rich kids.

Definitelyforgottosleep: u first!!!!!

Coffeeismygirlfriend: I’ll consider it.

Definitelyforgottosleep: if you dont sleep i will personally walk over there in the dead of night to knock you out

He read the message but didn’t respond. Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she decided to at least give him the benefit of the doubt.

She dropped her phone on the bed and curled up, finally allowing herself to close her eyes...

Her eyes snapped open. Her skin prickled uncomfortably. She was being watched.

The feeling eased a few seconds later, so she slowly angled her head to the window. No one.

Wait. There. A hand briefly moved into view.

Her eyes narrowed as she slowly, silently, stepped out of bed, careful not to displace Tikki. She moved the pillows to make a fake her and tip-toed to the window.

She pressed her ear to the wall, thankful for the first time that the walls were so thin:

“... insane, dude, the girl probably couldn’t hurt a fly if she wanted to.”

“I know what I saw. That coffee cup was the same one he --” there was a short pause “-- brings home all the time. And he saw her get one that day. She’s French and new in town. It’s got to be her.”

“This feels wrong,” mumbled a third voice.

She bit down on the inside of her cheek. She wasn’t stupid. They were definitely talking about her, and, from the sounds of it, were trying to discover her identity.

She glanced at Tikki. Still sound asleep... but in full view. The girl tip-toed back to her bed and covered her with a blanket. Gods don’t need air, right? She supposed she’d find out soon.

Content that they wouldn’t see the kwami, she all-but stomped to the window, flinging it open and leaning into her exhaustion. “Could you guys not do this outside my window?” She snapped.

The three jumped. The one nearest her nearly fell off the fire escape in their surprise. There was a blur of bright colors as everyone got into a fighting stance, outside of Marinette, who was trying to make herself seem as un-vigilante-ish as possible.

Her eyes widened. She had assumed it would just be three random people who were curious, not three vigilantes.

She was familiar with Nightwing as Ladybug; they’d passed each other a few times on patrol and given waves, but little else. She wasn’t as familiar with Red Robin or Red Hood, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t recognize them by their outfits.

Shoot, this was way more of a problem than she thought it’d be.

She flashed a weak smile. “Oh, I’m sorry, sirs. I thought you were just guys on my fire escape. You on a stakeout?”

Marinette had been leaning a little bit more into her accent to try and throw off Nightwing, but now the three all looked slightly confused. Her mind wandered back to the theory she’d had, that they could be the Waynes. She’d only been with them for the day, though, would they have paid that much attention?

“Of sorts,” said Red Hood.

Her eyes flickered over the three of them in turn. It didn’t matter who they were. What mattered is that she knew what she actually sounded like and she needed to play that off.

She yawned and rubbed her eyes to make herself seem like she was just now waking up. “If you’re staking out, can you...?”

She trailed off. This was a good chance that she was throwing away. She could confirm her theory and clear any suspicions of her being Ladybug right off the bat.

But how could she get them inside without sounding suspicious?

Her eyes wandered to the three, family-sized bags of Doritos in their hands. One was sporting Mountain Dew, while the other two held coffees (one was larger than the other, but her mind skipped right over that detail).

“Is that really all you’re eating tonight?” She asked, her lips falling into a frown.

The three all looked at each other.

“I mean... yeah, it’s stakeout food,” said Nightwing.

She clicked her tongue. “C’mon,” she waved them inside and began walking to her kitchen.


	15. Chapter 15

Marinette didn’t need to turn around to know they were snooping. She could hear all three of them shuffling around her apartment. She bit down on the inside of her cheek. As long as they didn’t find the Miraculous Box or Tikki she would be fine. And those were both pretty well hidden. It’d be fine.

She hummed to herself as she pulled down baking equipment, then looked over her shoulder to figure out where they were.

Nightwing was looking suspiciously at her bed, where she had left her fake version of herself. He glanced at her and she raised an eyebrow.

“There were three people outside my window, did you want me not to take precautions?”

The man looked away without saying anything.

Red Hood messed with her window lock, eyes narrowed, then he typed something in his phone as he mumbled to himself. She barely caught the words “buy new” and rolled her eyes.

Red Robin was closest, rifling through her kitchen cupboards for... something. He set a box on the counter and then continued looking for something, eyebrows scrunched in irritation.

She read the label of her instant coffee. “Oh! The good coffee is...” She leaned past him to pull it out from where it was hidden in her spice section (she didn’t want to be tempted, it was only for when guests were over). She handed it over and he beamed.

“Thanks!”

She nodded and started pulling things down to bake. She could feel all three of them wander closer and looked back at their interested expressions.

“Um... can I help you?”

“Whatcha making?” Asked Red Hood, peering over her shoulder to try and guess.

She glanced down at the stuff she’d gathered. She would have thought that the bag of brown sugar would have given away that she was making cookies, but she supposed this just put another notch in her ‘rich kid’ theory.

“Cookies. Anyone have allergies?”

They all shook their heads and she checked over her ingredients before starting to add --.

“Can we help?” Asked Red Robin.

She set down the flour she was holding and gave a wary glance back at them. “Do any of you actually know how to help?”

They glanced at each other. She was asking a rich kid, an ex-circus kid, and an ex-orphan if they knew how to bake.

“Yep,” said Red Robin.

“Of course,” said Nightwing.

“Obviously,” said Red Hood.

She sighed. “You have no idea, huh?”

“Yep.”

“Of course.”

“Obviously.”

She rolled her eyes and leaned back against the counter. They were very clearly bored, there was little to do in her apartment, and she supposed it wouldn’t be bad to get some help...

She set back the chocolate chips and brown sugar. “Fine. I guess we’ll make sugar cookies,” she muttered.

She started searching through her things for measuring cups. Did she even have any? She never used them, why would --? She pulled out some red ones spotted with black and blinked. She didn’t remember unpacking those, didn’t even remember buying them...

Her eyes flickered to where Tikki was, and she saw the little kwami give her a small smile before disappearing under the covers again.

She smiled and handed them over. “Great. I need someone to make the frosting, someone to cream the ingredients together, and someone to measure things.”

This was an easy recipe. There was no way they could get this wrong.

~

How could they mess up so badly?

She hadn’t expected her usual caliber of cookies, but this was ridiculous!

She had looked away for one second to show Red Robin how her coffee maker worked and now the batter was dry and the frosting had split.

She rested her head in her hands. She vaguely considered giving up her secret identity just to give them all a quick punch but disregarded it when she brought her hands down.

They were clearly trying so hard. They were failing. Miserably. But they were trying.

Marinette discarded the idea of ‘accidentally’ dropping the batter. It would allow her to make a new one and lessen suspicions of her being Ladybug, but she definitely would have felt bad.

She looked down at the bowls and rested her hands on her hips, looking them over as she tried to figure out where they had gone wrong.

She chewed on the inside of her cheek and started messing with the dough. It didn’t look quite overworked, so it had to be a recipe problem. She started opening and checking all her ingredients and sighed softly when she opened the egg carton. She added the last egg they needed in with a small frown. It wouldn’t be her best work, but it should be decent. She handed it back to Red Hood to mix.

Her eyes found their way to the frosting next. All her ingredients had been the same temperature when she’d given them to Nightwing, so that meant it could only be how long he mixed it. She set it back in the mixer and pressed start.

Aw, they were all blushing in embarrassment, how cute.

After a few more minutes everything was done. She rolled out the dough and, after a bit of searching, handed over cookie cutters.

They looked at her confusedly.

“Well, obviously, you have to decorate them. Get to work.”

The three vigilantes eyed each other warily, then the box in her hands.

A grin split across her face. “Any day now, there are only so many good ones.”

She hastily set the cutters on the table and backed up. She forced back a laugh as they made a grab for the box. There was a blur of colors and limbs as they all shoved each other around, trying their hardest to get the ‘good ones’.

Marinette had the good ones. They didn’t need to know that.

She watched the chaos for a little bit and then looked at the frosting. She should really get to coloring it, but what colors was she to use? Should she just do the colors of their costumes? Or did they have specific things they wanted to make?

She turned around to ask this and raised an eyebrow as she watched Red Robin throw flour at Nightwing. This would have been all fine and good -- she had more than enough -- if Nightwing hadn’t ducked.

There was silence as she wiped the flour from her face.

She gave a long, tired sigh. Her lips parted as if to say something.

Then she grabbed a handful of flour and threw it right back.

She ducked as the fighting resumed, then glanced at what they had made. She bit the inside of her cheek again. She didn’t want to mess it up, it had been too much effort to make for her to abandon it like that, and she made a dive for the parchment paper.

She squeaked as flour was poured down the back of her shirt, and whipped around to see a somewhat sheepish looking Red Hood. This look was replaced with fear quickly, though, as she tackled him to the ground.

He struggled limply. She wasn’t trying to actually pin him down, but he wasn’t exactly trying to get up either. He was scared of hurting her. How cute.

She pulled the flour from his grip and smiled cheekily as she covered his eyes and dumped it on his face.

She rolled off of him as he sputtered and brandished her new weapon.

Red Robin offered her a hand up. She glanced at it and grinned as she took it. An alliance had been made.

An egg hit the back of her new ally’s head and they whipped around to find Nightwing grinning at them.

“Cover for me?” She said.

“Why do I get the feeling that I’m not getting a choice?”

“‘Cause you’re not,” she chirped.

He sighed as he reluctantly lunged towards Nightwing to distract him.

She grabbed the dough and frosting and quickly hid it away. The moment the cupboard door closed she turned around to see Red Hood, smiling cheekily as he held up a bottle of milk.

She rolled away in an attempt to stay dry, but it wasn’t enough. Now there was milk covering most of her legs.

She shook out her soggy pants awkwardly before running to Red Robin’s side. “C’mon,” she mumbled, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him away from what would have been an egg to the face. He grabbed as many things from the counter as he could as they passed and she glanced around quickly.

She jumped over the bed -- Tikki flew up her shirt to hide -- and started peeling off sheets and blankets for a fort.

He raised an eyebrow and she mumbled a quiet: “For cover.”

He grinned appreciatively. “Smart.”

“Thanks.”

She glanced at her friend and they locked eyes for a second. They ducked to the floor as she began building up their walls, and he worked at keeping the others away in the meantime.

He held up a spoon and she raised an eyebrow. He gave a short wink before using it to launch some flour at an advancing Nightwing.

She grinned. “Smart!”

“Thanks!”

When light finally filtered through her window, her room was utter devastation. Nightwing had gotten himself locked in the closet somehow. The two allies high-fived over the body of Red Hood, who was completely coated in random ingredients.

She smiled and pressed a kiss to Red Robin’s cheek. “Come back tonight, I’ll have some cookies made for you guys.”

Marinette grinned as she waved them all off, costumes still flecked with ingredients despite their best efforts to pat them off. They’d surely have a fun time explaining that to Batman.

She turned back to her room and sighed at the mess. Great. She picked up a mop.


	16. Chapter 16

She glanced up from her cleaning when she got a knock on the door. A frown played across her exhausted face. She ran her fingers through her hair as she walked to the door.

Who could it be? Chloe and/or Audrey? Tim? A very unlucky Mormon? Who knew. She was glad for a break, though.

Marinette hummed softly as she pulled open the door and her eyebrows scrunched together at the pair. Strangers. They bustled past her and she blinked a few times as they started to clean.

She closed the door and rested her head against the cold wood, giving a long sigh. Great. She was starting to hallucinate, then.

She yawned and dropped onto her empty bed to close her eyes. She just needed to wake up some. She’d get up soon. Just a few seconds...

A few hours later, she felt a hand shake her shoulder and groaned as she bat it away. It took about three shakes to get her to stop trying, and another seven before she finally opened her eyes.

She reeled back at the sight of a person leaning over her, her brain struggling to figure out just why there was someone in her apartment, when she took in his outfit. A maid? Her eyes flickered to another right next to him, who was giving her a reassuring smile.

“Sorry, miss, we needed to fix your bed.”

She blinked a few times and looked around. Her apartment was completely spotless, even more than it had been when she’d originally moved in. She could see her reflection in the floor if she wanted to.

And she did not want to. She needed a shower, and fast. Her face flushed as she rolled out of bed and practically sprinted to her bathroom.

When had finished rubbing out the flour that caked her skin, she stepped out. The maids were fluffing her pillows. Cool?

The female maid stepped away and smiled as she walked over and pulled something from her pocket, and handed it over. “They asked me to give this to you.”

A window lock.

Her eyes narrowed slightly and she glanced up at her. “Hey, ma’am, who sent you?” She asked as politely as possible. This was Red Hood’s work, if she was correct, and that meant --

“They asked me not to tell.”

She sighed. “How much are they paying?”

The maid gave a short look around her apartment. “More than you can afford.”

“Yeah, that checks out. Thanks anyway.”

The pair left as quickly as they’d come and she sighed as she shook her head. Resigning herself to the fact that she likely wouldn’t find out the bat family’s identities anytime soon, she started getting ready for the café.  
~

The moment she stepped outside she could tell something was wrong. There were fewer people out than normal. The people that were out were looking around, paranoid. Even people who she had seen talking to each other on multiple occasions were eyeing each other suspiciously. The groups were more tightly clustered, but people had never looked more separated.

She slipped into a group and started flipping through her phone. She’d missed something. Clearly.

News, news, news --

She nearly dropped it.

The Joker had broken out of prison again.

Her throat tightened. They had been four vigilantes down the night before. Had he known? Had it been a coincidence?

Did it even matter if it had been?

Would they have caught him if they’d been there? She hoped, selfishly, that the answer was no. That he would have gotten away even if they had tried to stop him.

But that wasn’t what happened. They hadn’t fought a hard battle. Hadn’t tried their hardest and failed. They had only failed.

And that was infinitely worse.

~

She passed the café and her face paled as she glanced inside. She knew that Tim got there the moment the place opened, that he always got the same spot.

But now there was a random couple in their place

And Tim was nowhere to be seen.

She pulled up her phone and sent out a text, her anxiety ramping even further.

Definitelyforgottosleep: where r u???

She put her phone back in her pocket and started with a new group in the opposite direction.


	17. Chapter 17

There are many good things about being friends with rich people. The only thing Marinette cared about as she walked through the streets was that it was exceptionally easy to remember where they lived.

She kept her eyes locked on her phone. A bad choice, yes, but the one she was making. She stared at the icon by the bottom of her message indicating it was still unread, anxiety ramping with every second.

Before long she found herself outside of the gates of Wayne Manor. Did it feel like a breach of privacy for her to go there? A little bit. Did she care if someone was possibly dead?

Definitely not.

She bit down on the inside of her cheek and sat herself down in plain view of a security camera, then opened up a new chat.

Definitelyforgottosleep: open the gates :D

It took a few minutes of flipping between each of the chats to see the read icon under one, and another few for them to answer.

Redhoodiewastaken: can’t right now <3

Definitelyforgottosleep: f you then <3

She sighed and opened up her messages to Dick, but before she could even say anything he was starting to type.

Idontwantpicturesthatsjustmyname: No

Her eyebrows scrunched together. So at least everyone seemed to be together.

Definitelyforgottosleep: just send a picture of everyone pls or make tim pick up his phone

A couple of moments later she received a picture of the family. In the front, holding the phone, was an exasperated Dick. In the background she could see Tim hunched over his computer on a couch, five discarded coffee cups around him as he typed furiously, the bags under his eyes more prominent than ever. Next to him was Jason, who was laying next to him, holding a cup for Tim to drink from intermittently as he scrolled through his phone with a concerned expression. She could see a fourth person walking away from them, hands thrown up in a clear ‘I give up’ fashion.

She smiled faintly. Her shoulders finally relaxed.

Definitelyforgottosleep: thanks!!!!

Idontwantpicturesthatsjustmyname: np

She pushed herself to her feet and started dusting off her clothes. The gate swung open next to her and she jumped, her shoulders tensing. She glanced around the iron and raised her eyebrows as she saw a new person stepping out and starting the walk towards her.

A tiny part of her was tempted to run inside and grab Tim. He was safe, that was great, but she had never seen him so tired than she had in that picture. She did promise she would knock him out if he didn’t sleep...

Then again, would the security system snipe her? She wouldn’t be of much use dead.

Before she could make up her mind, the person was upon her.

She stared at the new person as they crossed their arms over their chest and glared at her. “What’re you doing?”

She sighed. “Thinking.”

“Looks like you’re trying to sneak in.”

Marinette’s eyes narrowed. This was not the time to test her. She’d accidentally made it easy for Joker to get away. She’d had a scare where she thought her friend could have been dead. She was also a little sleep deprived.

“I was checking up on the Waynes. They’re my friends,” she sweetly said despite the growing pit of anger in her. He was being fair, she probably would have thought the same thing in his situation, so why couldn’t she relax? She didn’t know why his presence made her veins buzz, but she decided she didn’t like it.

He raised his eyebrows. “Then why don’t I know you?”

She blinked once and her eyes flickered over his features. Light-colored eyes. Dark Hair. He even kind of resembled Bruce. Could it be...?

Didn’t matter. Just because he was most likely Damian Wayne didn’t mean she could just calm herself down.

“Who knows. What does it matter? I’m not going in.”

“Obviously not, I wouldn’t have let you.”

She raised her eyebrows. She gave a small scoff before turning on her heel. She didn’t want to do this today. She was already going to have to deal with Robin later, she was sure, so she clenched her fists and walked away.

~

She loved baking. It was satisfying to watch and easy to do. Which meant it gave her time to think.

Why had Damian’s presence irritated her so much? She’d never met him before. He was being reasonable. Sure, he’d been a little monotone and condescending, but she’d dealt with that before as a young hero. So why...?

She cut out the simple circles from her dough and set them in the oven. She set a timer and sat on the floor to watch them, her head resting against the cupboard behind her.

Then she was thinking about Tikki, her eyebrows knit together. Tikki had barely moved since summoning something the measuring cups the night before. She reached her hand into her purse to stroke the kwami’s head. She had felt the kwami getting weaker and weaker by the day, but to be so incapacitated by summoning one thing?

So she couldn’t use her lucky charm, which meant all damages in any fight would be permanent. She hoped that this would be fine, she was only facing off against mostly human villains, damage shouldn’t ever get too bad. She had a feeling she wasn’t that lucky.

Her phone buzzed and she checked the cookies, biting the inside of her cheek. Great. This was all great.

She pulled them out and set them out to cool, and handed a still-warm cookie to Tikki in hopes that it would help. While she gave a small smile and nibbled at it, she didn’t feel any energy returning to the kwami.

Could she take her out that night?

She needed to go, obviously. Even if the bat family didn’t want to meet up with her, she would make it happen. But she knew that every little thing was draining her kwami.

She bit down on her lip. She didn’t really want anyone to know that there were other kwamis in Gotham. Not if she didn’t have to.

She would just make sure not to summon.

~

She smiled weakly as she handed the cookies over to the heroes. She had decorated them with little pictures of their personas and occasionally just their faces.

Then she sent the fake version of her to wave them off as she slipped out the door. Her hand rested over the foxtail necklace dangling on her chest.

She watched from a rooftop as they all disappeared and smiled. “Trixx, let’s rest.”

Now she had two choices. She could hold onto the necklace or risk her identity by jumping down and going into her house (because people are now far warier of people running around) or she could hold onto it.

“Stay hidden,” she said as she bounced to the next roof.

~

It was convenient that they were all in one place. They seemed to have made a sort of circle across five different rooftops. She smiled as she bounced over to Red Robin. “Hey.”

He nearly jumped out of his skin. As it were, he did jump a few feet in the air.

She grinned and gave him a small wave.

His shoulders relaxed and he pressed a hand to his ear. “Yeah, she’s here.”

Marinette smiled. “Aww, you were expecting me?” She cooed, walking in step with him.

“Of course, you’re our guest of honor,” he said jokingly with a short wink at her. His eyes zeroed in on her fox necklace and his eyebrows raised.

She brought her hand up to touch it. One of the few things that Trixx’s powers couldn’t hide was miraculi when someone was wearing them. Did he remember her and her fake version wearing it? It had only been a brief exchange. She’d have to think of some way to convince them it was nothing in either form.

They hopped to the middle rooftop where everyone was waiting for them.

Marinette looked at all of them. She’d met the bat kids, but meeting Batman himself was completely different.

“Hello,” he said gruffly. There was no way that was his actual voice, but she decided to humor him.

“Hiya!” She chirped before her smile dropped into a serious frown. “Do we want to, how you say, cut to the chase?”

“Please,” said Robin.

She rolled her eyes. She supposed she should have expected that. She turned to look away from him because she could feel her veins buzzing with ‘hey, give him a miraculous!’ and it was distracting. She rested her hands on her hips as she looked at the rest of the bat family.

“So, how’re we killing Joker?”


	18. Chapter 18

The entire bat family looked surprised.

“But -- but you didn’t try and kill Hawkmoth!” Said Red Robin after a few minutes of giving her a wide-eyed stare.

She rolled her eyes. “That’s because I couldn’t. We’re pretty much indestructible in these suits and Chat wasn’t able to bring himself to cataclysm him. It took four years, do you really think I wouldn’t have preferred to just take out a gun and fu --.”

“Y’know, just once I’d like one of my future children to say ‘oh, hey, actually I think murder is a bad thing’. Is that too much to ask?” Batman said, squeezing his eyes shut.

She raised her eyebrows. “’Future children’? I don’t want to be adopte --.”

Nightwing rested a hand on her shoulder. “Shhh, it’s going to end up happening, it’s better if you just accept it.”

“I love her,” said Red Hood with a wide grin. “Lay off of her guys. I’m mentoring this one.”

Red Robin sighed. “Not happening.”

“Do I get a say in any of this?” Marinette said, shrugging the hand off of her shoulder and rubbing where it had been for a bug of some sort. Nothing. At least they weren’t that bad. “It’s the best option.”

Batman held his hands up for silence, and then turned to her and spoke slowly as if hoping it would stick better if he enunciated every letter: “If we kill him then we’ll be just as bad as him.”

She stared at him for a long time after this, doing mental gymnastics to figure out just what his perspective could be. “Okay, first of all, Kant --.”

“Don’t bother with bats,” said Red Hood, striding over and slinging his arm around her shoulders. “He’s not going to listen.”

Robin seemed especially bitter about the whole ordeal, stewing between Nightwing and Batman until he finally snapped his fingers. “Oh! But you didn’t kill Hawkmoth when you took his miraculous!”

The bat family reeled back in shock and stared at their youngest like he’d grown a second head.

Red Hood seemed particularly offended. “Did bats get to you, too?”

Robin shook his head. “I just think she’s being inconsistent and a hypocrite.”

“Alright. First of all: the reason I didn’t bother with killing him afterward is because the guy relied so much on his miraculous that it was obvious he wouldn’t be able to do anything. If he broke out of jail he’d have a little bit of fight training and a secretary. Second of all: screw you!”

Red Hood pretended to wipe away a tear. “Best new sister yet.”

She grinned and finally leaned into him. “Thanks. I try.” Her smile dropped as she looked at the rest of the bat family. “As the only one to permanently defeat anyone, don’t you think I should get a bigger say in this?”

Robin raised his eyebrows and gave her the first smile she’d ever gotten from him, though it was gone quickly. Nightwing brought a hand to his mouth to stifle a laugh. Red Robin wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that he was laughing.

Batman seemed less amused, eyes narrowed. “How about we put it to a vote. Everyone who agrees with Ladybug, stand next to her. Everyone who agrees with me, stand here.”

Red Hood remained at her side, but Nightwing and Red Robin stepped closer to their father. Everyone’s eyes fell on Robin, who was looking between the two sides with a conflicted expression.

Then he took a spot by Red Hood.

Three on three. Great.

Marinette sighed. “This is why you don’t do votes with even numbers.”

They all looked at each other awkwardly. What do you do when you say you’re going to vote and then tie? It doesn’t really happen a lot, and even less so when it came to topics such as murder.

She sighed. “Fine, fine. If you can give an actually good option that doesn’t involve murder, I’d love to hear it.”

“We throw him in Arkham.”

“Arkham?”

“Yes.”

“The asylum where he’s broken out of a million times?”

“Yes.”

She rolled her eyes. “Great idea, but maybe we need something more permanent.”

“It’s not going to work, Ladybug,” said Nightwing with a shrug. “Man always comes back. I killed Joker myself once, Batman saved him, you just kind of have to accept that the man isn’t going to die.”

“Well, maybe if he didn’t save him --!” she began.

“We won’t be killing him and that’s final!” Said Batman.

All the kids looked at each other warily. The man’s voice had a dangerous sense of finality to it.

Marinette sighed and bit the inside of her cheek. “Fine. If we do it your way we’d have to lock up every major criminal in Gotham to make sure he couldn’t get out. Do you have some sort of plan for it?”

Red Robin raised his hand. “I do. You’re pretty new and no rogues have any clue what you sound, or even really look, like.”

She raised her eyebrows. “My ladybug costume is pretty recognizable.”

“True, no one else would wear something that tacky,” said Robin.

She stared at him for a second, anger flickering in her eyes. “Have you seen yourself, Mr. Traffic Light?”

Before they could argue any more, Red Robin cut in: “You mentioned taking Hawkmoth and Mayura’s miraculi. Try using one of those instead.”

She bit down on the inside of her cheek. Those were notoriously hard to corrupt and use for evil, and she didn’t want to put them through that again so soon. “I’ll think of something else, but fine. I’m going to become someone else so I can... have a different outfit?”

“We want you to get close to the Rogues.”

After another hour of going through their plans, then an extra few minutes to make sure everyone jotted it down, they finally knew what they were going to do.

Then she was handed a small black object. She blinked and looked up at Batman. “Um...?”

“It’s a way to communicate with us. Just press down and we’ll hear both you and whatever you’re hearing.”

“Is it bugged?”

“No. Nightwing tried, but if you want your privacy then you’re allowed it.”

She spun the small orb between her fingers and slowly placed it in her ear. She pressed down. “TESTING!” She yelled and watched everyone wince and hold their own ears. She smirked. “Great, I love it, thanks.”

“I don’t know what you were talking about, Robin, she’s great,” said Red Hood with an even wider grin once his head had stopped twanging painfully.

“Aw, he talks about me?” She cooed, resting a hand over her heart.

Red Robin grinned, still rubbing his temples a little bit, but he would never miss out on a chance to mess with his brother, so he spoke up: “Hardly ever stops, to be honest.”

“Ladybug this, Ladybug that. It got annoying,” said Nightwing with a small smirk playing across his face.

Then everyone finally broke into laughter as the poor kid began to flush bright red. “That’s just because she sucks! Stop making it sound like that!”

Needless to say, they only laughed harder.

With that, they began to break off into groups. Red Robin and Robin went to arguing over who knows what. Nightwing and Batman were discussing the logistics of their plan. Now she was alone with Red Hood, whose smile didn’t waver.

She glanced around to make sure no one was within earshot. “Gun?”

He gave her shoulder a small squeeze. “Gun.”


	19. Chapter 19

She sighed as she sat on the rooftop, swinging her legs as she waited for something to happen.

It felt weird to be back in full costume. In contrast with her now usual spandex, her outfit was a black swing-style dress with white tights. She ran her fingers through her new curls. They were magically swept to the side and stretched to her waist, where her lasso resided (it was the closest she could get to her yoyo without raising some eyebrows).

Her earpiece buzzed and she sighed as she clicked it on.

“-- don’t see why I have to be beaten up,” complained Robin.

She grinned and pressed a hand to her ear. “Because you’re the only one I don’t like. It’s most believable.”

“And because you promised that you wouldn’t hurt him too badly,” Batman warned.

“That too,” she agreed with a vague wave of her hand.

“If you don’t adopt her, I will, Bats,” said Red Hood.

She groaned. “I’m not getting --.”

“Shut up! All of you!” Hissed Robin.

There was a click in her ear, telling her that he had changed his earpiece setting. Now they could hear everything he could, including the light patter of his feet. There was a crunching sound as he hit the ground.

“Come on, Harley, you know I don’t want to have to arrest you.”

“Well, you don’t have to.”

Robin sighed. “Harley... just give the grocers back their things. Or pay for them.”

Ah, the grocers. She hopped a few buildings over and started making her way around the rim, poking her head over to try and find them.

“Not gonna do that.”

“I know,” he said with a quiet groan.

There. She rested her head on her arms as she watched Harley charge him. It was clear from the first few seconds of watching them that Damian had to have some sort of soft spot for the woman, because he wasn’t even trying to really punch back. Instead, he was dodging her attacks and ducking around her to grab the groceries she had dropped.

She snickered.

“Aw, how sweet,” she said on the intercoms, then snickered when his face hardened.

She waited until he had mostly picked up everything to jump down on the side opposite Harley. Both of them paused when they saw her, she could see the woman looking her up and down with a shockingly sharp look in her eyes, and then Damian sent her a glare.

“Move,” he said, and she was 99% sure he was deepening his voice for this. She suppressed a laugh.

“Really?” she asked, leaning into her accent a little. She gave a small shrug. “If you say so.”

Marinette unhooked her lasso and lunged for him. “Miss, do you have any eggs or other fffffff-- I forgot the word! It starts with an F!” She called.

She jumped out of the way of a punch. Ah, so he was actually going to put some force into his attacks. How rude.

Harley went to checking the last few bags on the ground, then held up a carton of eggs. “I’m good, hon!”

She grinned. “Convenient.” She lassoed Robin’s foot on his next kick and pulled tight, holding his leg up at an awkward angle. “You know, amateurs are usually the ones who choreograph their moves like this,” she teased.

“You --!” Whatever curse he was going to throw at her was cut off when she let go, making him wobble uncertainly for a few steps before catching his footing.

“No fun. Try again.”

She could see his face redden with anger behind his mask. He dropped the bags to the ground and made a grab for her lasso that she had to roll to avoid.

So he’d had the decency to hold back before. Hm.

She whipped around just in time to feel a fist connect with her cheek. She stumbled back a step in shock. Then she ducked a new attack and went for his legs.

He jumped around her and sent a kick to the back of her own, sending her to the ground.

She was forced to do an awkward backroll when he attempted to jump on her. Her leg came up to kick him in the jaw. He sprang forward to let her kick him in the stomach. She thought this a weird way to throw the match until his hand locked around her wrist. In seconds he had twisted her onto her stomach, arm pressed to her back.

She groaned and tried scooting up slightly to try and lessen the pain, but he followed.

“No fun. Try again,” he teased.

He dropped her arm and stood up, dusting off his knees where they’d skid on the ground.

She glanced at Harley, who was taking her sweet time grabbing her things while she watched them fight. Great.

She turned herself over and sent him a glare, pushing herself to her feet.

Then, she broke into a grin. “That was a bad move, Robin,” she cooed. She flashed him finger guns and a portal opened under his feet.

His eyes widened in a mix of fear and surprise as he fell through the air. She had dropped him from pretty high up under the pretenses of trying to kill him, but really she was just giving him time to get out his grappling hook. And he did.

But then it hooked around the hand she’d flashed the signal with. And she was falling.

She screamed as they crashed together. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WHY DID YOU THINK THAT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA --.”

“IM WORKING ON IT!” He yelled back, his eyes just as panicked as hers. He was unhooking his grapple gun from her wrist, but it would take too much time for him to aim.

She opened a new portal under them and tumbled at awkward angles, bodies skidding against the concrete. Her chin knocked against the ground as she finally slid to a stop, stars dancing in front of her eyes. Bile built up in the back of her throat but forced herself to sit up.

Robin was doing worse. Once their bodies had split off, he’d knocked his head on the edge of a pothole. His face was in a puddle, but he didn't seem to have the ability to pick it up.

She unhooked her lasso and bound his hands and feet, glaring, then flipped him onto his back. His eyes were unfocused, but they were starting to clear.

The first thing he managed to truly see was her scowling face.

“We could have died!”

“I wouldn’t have. The plan was to use you as a cushion even if you couldn’t do another one of those portal things.”

She scoffed and gave him a kick to the side, then looked back. Harley had grabbed her last bag. Finally.

“Thanks, kiddo!” Called Harley as she ducked out of the alley.

She grinned as she waited a few minutes to let her leave. “Mmmmm, good luck finding her,” she cooed, untying her lasso. She took a portal back onto the rooftop. She walked to the side where Harley had disappeared.

As she suspected, the woman had been watching to see how they interacted when she was gone. She left now, an unreadable smile on her face.

Marinette relaxed a little and made a new portal to the rooftop where they had agreed to meet. She grinned when she realized she had managed to get behind the bat family.

Never one to waste an opportunity, she smiled and pressed a hand to her ear.

“Look behind you!” She whispered fearfully.

Instantly, the three whipped around with their hands flying to their weapons. They only relaxed slightly when they realized it was her.

“Can you not sneak up on us?” Complained Nightwing. “I’m going to have a heart attack!”

She grinned. “Sure, old man.”

Red Hood snickered. “If he’s old, then Bats must be ancient.”

She opened her mouth to answer, then caught the look on the vigilante’s face and quickly looked away with a grin playing at her lips.

“So, who’s a better fighter?” Asked Red Hood after a bit.

She grinned. “I won.”

“Only because you cheated,” complained Robin as he jumped onto the rooftop. He was nursing his head, where there was definitely a bruise forming.

She rested a hand over her cheek, sure she had one to match. “And you nearly got us killed.”

“You almost killed me.”

“No! You would have been fine.”

He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

She huffed and turned back to the rest. She saw Nightwing looking her outfit up and down suspiciously and raised her eyebrows. “What?”

“Why is this outfit more intricate than your normal one?”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Because I was intending to make it look like a coincidence that I showed up here right after the Ladybug in Paris defeated Hawkmoth,” she lied. Because all good partnerships are built on lies.

He frowned and looked suspicious, but there was no way to prove she was being dishonest, so he changed the subject: “How do you think it went?”

“Couldn’t tell. She has a good poker face,” she admitted.

Robin shrugged as well.

With little information to report, they broke off. Eventually, it was just her and Red Hood, alone on the rooftop.

He handed her a small pistol. She raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“I think it matches your outfit best!” He defended his choice.

She rolled her eyes and a holster materialized itself on the side of her dress. She checked the safety and put it in. “Thanks.”

“No problem.”


	20. Chapter 20

The next day, she walked through the bad part of town (was there really a bad part of town in a place like this?). With the horse miraculous the whole ‘walking’ thing wasn’t quite necessary, but she was waiting for something.

She checked her reflection in a mirror and made sure that her earpiece was completely invisible and continued on.

People avoided her like the plague. If you were wearing a costume you were either a rogue or a vigilante. In this part of town, they were both equally bad. The best option was to avoid them and hope you don’t find out.

So, when she saw people approaching her, her brain shorted out a little bit. They were all obviously affiliated with each other. They were wearing the same suits, even had the same general build. Did their boss get mad at them? At her? Did they have some sort of grudge?

Then she saw the needle in the closest’s hand.

She made a squeaking noise in the back of her throat and turned on her heel. To her horror, she saw more people in those same suits. Great. Brilliant, even. They’d surrounded her and were blocking her only two exits.

She could use a portal, sure, but she didn’t want everyone to know her powers. The fewer people knew about her new persona the better.

“Feeellas,” she said awkwardly as they neared her, hands up in surrender. “Listen, listen, you rea -- eeee!”

She had been cut off when one lunged for her. She backed up as quickly as she could, eyes locked on the needle in his hand, only to feel a hand clamp around her shoulder.

Her head whipped around and the man gave an apologetic smile as he held up a syringe.

“Ah, bon,” she hissed.

She didn’t register a gradual drop of consciousness, didn’t even feel the needle puncture her skin. One second she was struggling to get out of the man’s grip, the next she was tied in a chair, a bag over her head.

She could hear people screaming in her ear but it all came out as fuzz.

“Quoi?” She murmured to herself.

The bag was whipped off her head at the sound and she blinked a few times as she tried her hardest to understand what was going on through all the fog.

She was in a warehouse of some sort, that much was obvious from the high ceilings and boxes. For some reason, though, only one light was on; the one right above her shone brightly, making it hard to see more than a few feet in front of her.

Her brain cleared when she felt the cold barrel of a gun touch the back of her head. Her pupils dilated in fear. Even if it wouldn’t kill her, a shot to the head would definitely leave her incapacitated for the next few days.

A person stepped into her vision.

She looked up at the face of Harley Quinn and gave a weak smile. “Hey, miss, if you wanted to thank me this wasn’t at all necessary.”

She gave a soft laugh. “Thanks for your help, darlin’, but that’s not what you’re here for.”

“Then why?” She asked, trying to subtly tip her head back and see who had a gun to her head.

She heard the safety click and froze. She slowly trained her gaze back on the woman in front of her, but she never heard the safety turn back on.

The intention was clear: one more chance.

The smile that stretched across the woman’s face was so calculated and cold that she felt a shiver run through her. “I just have a few questions for you.”

She looked up at the woman in front of her and knew instantly that lying would be a fatal mistake. While she definitely gave off the impression of someone who had a few screws loose, her eyes were far too sharp for that to be completely true. At the very least, she’d been a very smart person before she had gone off the deep end. There was nothing saying that she didn’t keep those smarts when she’d changed.

So, no lies. This should be fun.

She swallowed thickly. “Of course.”

“One: why did you help me?”

“I was in the area, I saw you fighting Robin, I wanted to help you out.”

“Okay, that’s how, but why?”

Marinette bit the inside of her cheek. “You’re pretty high up in the crime world, I thought it would be a good idea to get on your good side.”

Harley raised her eyebrows. She must not have detected a lie, because in all technicality there wasn’t one, so she moved on: “Two: how do you know Robin?”

She blinked a few times.

“He went easy on you at first, it’s not normal for him.”

She gave a small shrug. “We’d met before. Didn’t go great on either of our ends but definitely not for me.”

Harley nodded. “Three: why can’t I take off your mask?”

Oh, thank kwami. Something she could answer having to think of a lie. “Miraculi don’t let you take them off without a fight. Especially this one, because it doubles as a mask.”

“Miraculi?” The woman’s cold smile dropped slightly in her confusion.

Great. She’d been wrong. Apparently, they weren’t all that well-known in America. She could have hidden that information by just saying it was a part of her powers. Still, she couldn’t start lying now, so she just said: “It’s a France thing, apparently. It just grants me my powers.”

“And how do those powers work?”

She gave a small shrug. “I can open portals anywhere I can see or visualize perfectly. Like, I can make a portal across the room and send another to my house, but I can’t make one ‘just outside’ because I don’t know where I am.”

Harley nodded slowly. “Last question: why are you on this side?”

The girl closed her eyes to think, then looked up at the woman. “Necessity,” she said simply.

She looked at the person behind Marinette and tipped her head to the side. “She wasn’t lying.”

“She’s still hiding things,” said a man’s voice.

“She’d be stupid not to.”

There was a long silence and Marinette’s forehead beaded with sweat.

The safety clicked and the gun left her skin. She breathed a sigh of relief and slumped in her chair as much as her restraints allowed.

Harley smiled. “Have you already had your debut? You said you had already fought Robin once before...”

Marinette bit the inside of her cheek. “I’ve not really done anything outside of fight him while like this. I kind of wanted to do some sort of major thing to debut.”

“Weeeell,” she began.

The man behind her sighed. “Harley. Don’t.”

“Whaaat? I like her,” she pouted.

The man groaned.

The woman grinned and leaned down to be at eye level. “Listen, darlin’, we’re planning to crash the Wayne Gala. You want in?”

Marinette’s eyes widened. The Wayne Gala? She cursed in French. She was lucky she hadn’t yet made prototypes for the outfits, because she was going to have to rework them to make running easier.

“Um... don’t speak French, darlin'.”

“Oh. I was just saying that sounds fun! Can’t wait!” (It was true, the context had just been much different.)

The woman walked around her. “Great! Let me just untie you...”

“No need.” She winked and opened a portal under herself and went crashing to the ground a few feet away. The chair broke under her from the force and she grinned as she pushed the splinters away from herself.

“Are you okay?” Came Batman’s voice in her ear, and Harley unknowingly echoed him.

“Yeah, these suits are pretty durable,” she answered both, then looked up at her captors. Whoever the guy was, he wasn’t the Joker. Still, he had the very distinct look of a villain. She frowned slightly as she tried to place his face, then shrugged to herself. She’d describe him to the bats later.

She stood and picked up the rope holding her, then pouted at the pair. “You used my own weapon to tie me?”

“Sorry, darlin’,” said Harley, not sounding at all sorry. “It was what we had on hand.”

She reattached her lasso to her waist. “Alright. I’m gonna head out. Next time, if you want to contact me, could you just send a guy to tell me so?”

Harley grinned. “No promises.”

She sighed and shook her head slightly, then opened a portal back to the grocers' rooftop. She sent a tiny wink before slipping through.


	21. Chapter 21

Now that she didn’t have the adrenaline of ‘gun! to my head!’ keeping her awake, her eyes drooped. She ran her fingers over every fold of her costume to look for bugs, then frowned when she didn’t find any. After triple-checking herself she found that the criminals had actually been nice enough not to do anything. Huh.

She opened a portal and stepped in front of the bat family, smiling weakly as she gave a wave. “Salut.”

Nightwing rushed forward and slung her arm around his shoulders to keep her properly upright. “Christ! What did they do to you?”

"Some sort of tranquilizer,” she mumbled, closing her eyes. “We need to warn the Waynes.”

She could feel Nightwing tense under her, and the silence that spread through the bat family told her that they, too, were struggling to come up with an answer to what she’d said.

“You’re not in any state to do that,” said Batman, finally.

“I can open a portal.”

“You’ve been to Wayne Manor?” Asked Nightwing, his smile evident in his voice.

Shoot. They knew how her powers worked now, she had to be more careful.

She opened an eye just enough to send him a glare. “No, but I’ve been outside it.”

His smile dropped. Good.

“You need to get home,” said Red Robin. “I’ll make sure everyone turns around.”

Marinette blinked a few times and looked up at him. “But patrol --.”

“Go,” said Red Hood with a sigh. “And take tomorrow off, too.”

She groaned quietly and pouted, but they were smart enough to look away. Dang. After making sure that everyone wasn’t watching, she opened a portal to her bed and dropped onto it.

She closed the portal and exited her transformation just before her eyes shut.

~

Two nights later, she was out on patrols again. The bat family had complained and tried to talk her out of it, but they couldn’t exactly stop her. She hopped over a rooftop and checked around, only to pause when her receiver crackled. She turned it on.

“Language!” Said Batman and Nightwing.

She grinned. “What happened?”

“Since when have Gothamites had bulletproof windows?” Red Hood complained.

Red Robin’s grin was evident in his voice when he spoke: “Oh? Are you alright?”

“Well, considering I just bodyslammed into a window, I’ll say no.”

She snickered. “I assume you do that often?”

“Obviously.”

“That’s probably why they’ve started doing that, then.”

“Shut up! I’m in pain!” He complained.

“Wait! Everyone, shut up! Why did you bodyslam a window?” Said Robin.

“I don’t know how to pick locks. Also, there was a burglar.”

There was a chorus of everyone screaming 'WHAT' and Marinette rolled her eyes.

“Where are you? I can pick locks.”

“WHY?” Asked Nightwing.

She shrugged. “Chat’s dad sucked. Anyway, where are you?”

He mumbled an answer and she headed in that direction.

She couldn’t help but laugh when he came into view, lying spread eagle on the sidewalk and glaring at the window above him.

“Hey.”

He looked up. “Yo.” He pushed himself to his feet and they walked to the door.

She pulled two pins from her pockets and went to work on the locks. After a few minutes of work, it finally clicked. She opened the door with a bow so deep Alfred would be jealous. “After you.”

He grinned and pulled his gun out. She took out her pistol.

They stepped inside the dark house. There was a family tied up on the ground of the living room and she smiled kindly as she knelt down, untying them. “You should all get out of here.”

“My wife is still here! You have to help her!” The woman whispered urgently, locking a hand around her wrist.

Marinette nodded. “Of course. We’ll do our best. You need to get your kids outside, ma’am.”

They looked reluctant, but they complied.

She glanced at Red Hood and her smile dropped. They raised their guns in unison.

They slipped through the halls together, footsteps muffled by the carpet. They kicked open doors, leaning in with their guns at the ready, then continued on to the next.

Within a few minutes they had cleared the whole house, all that was left was the door to the basement. They shared grim looks and she swung the door open slowly.

They stepped down a bit, hands searching the walls for a lightswitch.

They only got a few steps down before a shot rang out. The railing between them splintered and the pair whipped around, guns out.

It took a minute for their eyes to adjust to the light. The criminal was holding the woman in front of himself as a shield, revolver pointing at each of them in turn.

“Drop your weapons!” The man screeched in a high voice.

The vigilantes glanced at each other. There was no way they could get a clear shot at him with the woman in front of him, anyways. They flipped their safeties on and dropped their weapons over the railing.

She narrowed her eyes slightly. The man was clearly in a panic. Any wrong movements might make him shoot. However, as her eyes found their way to his revolver, she recognized he couldn’t have more than five shots in his gun.

She bit down on the inside of her cheek.

Before Red Hood could stop her, she had hopped the railing. A shot rang out, nailing the wall where her head had been seconds before.

Four shots to go.

Unable to stop for a second, she dropped to the ground and reached for her pistol.

Pain. She registered the pain before she heard the shot. Her shoulder screamed in protest as the bullet clattered to the ground at her side. Her suit did nothing to lessen the pain, it only kept her body in one piece.

She just needed to hold out a little longer.

Three shots left.

She pushed herself to her feet, fighting the urge to cradle her arm as she held out her pistol.

Another shot. This one hit her square in the chest. She stumbled back a few steps with the force of it. A coppery scent filled her mouth.

She couldn’t care. As long as she was the one being shot at...

Two shots.

“LADYBUG, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU --?” Began Red Hood. Apparently, he’d snapped out of his shock.

Crap. She’d hoped it would last longer than that. She could see the criminal turning his gun onto him in his surprise and forced herself forward --.

The shot hit her leg. He must have realized that his normal shots weren’t working and was trying to slow her. Or maybe he was just shaking. It didn’t matter. She tried a step forward. She wheezed in pain. Blood dribbled from the corner of her mouth.

She shifted her weight onto her other leg.

One.

She lunged the last distance and grabbed the hand he was holding the gun with, forcing it down and pain unlike anything she’d ever felt before raced through her from a point on her side. She broke into a wide grin even as she was forced to stumble back, her hand flying to where the bullet had hit.

They’d won.

She turned her head to look at Red Hood, to tell him that it was safe now, that he could get the hostage now. The words died on her lips.

Why’d he look so horrified?

She waved her hands to say ‘get a move on’ when something caught her eyes.

Her hands were slick with red.

Her gaze fell to her stomach. Maroon stained her spandex.

She had lost consciousness before she’d even hit the ground.  
~

Pain jolted her back to the present. Her vision was a blur of color. She blinked her tears away.

Red Hood was leaning over her, using his trademark jacket as a temporary way to bind the wound.

She smiled faintly. Good. His jacket didn’t match his outfit anyways.

Oh. Wait. He was saying something. She stared at his mouth, watching it move and move, but unable to hear anything above the ringing in her ears. Was it from all the gunfire? Was she dying?

She didn’t want to know.

He picked her up as gingerly as he could and, after saying something to the likely traumatized woman, raced her outside.

God, she wanted to sleep. Her eyes drooped over and over again, only to jerk back open with every painful step. She pressed her face into his shoulder and tried her hardest not to cry.

~

Her back hit the bed and she shot awake. The bat family was leaning over her, yelling at... her? Each other? Themselves? They were all yelling over each other, but she couldn’t distinguish voices or words. She supposed she should just be glad she could hear again.

She could see everyone cleaning her wound, but her body had stopped feeling the pain. Was this shock? Wasn’t shock bad?

A hand reached out to touch her earrings and she caught it before it could take them off. She tried to speak but blood gurgled from her throat. Still, Nightwing seemed to get the idea, tugging his hand from her grip and moving to tend to her wounds.

Her shoulders relaxed. They were trying to treat her in her suit. Good. She didn’t want them to know.

~

She opened her eyes blearily. Sunlight streamed through the window, assaulting her vision.

She groaned and reached a hand up to block the light, only for pain to race through her veins. A guttural scream escaped her lips.

A person she didn’t even notice shot up from where they’d been sitting and stepped into the light.

She blinked a few times, then gave a weak smile. “Hi.”

“You’re stupid,” said Robin, leaning over her to make sure she hadn’t irritated her wound.

She grinned. “No, you.”

He snorted. “That’s all you got? No witty comeback today?”

“Well, I was shot.”

His smile dropped a bit at that and he had the decency to look sheepish. “Oh. Right.” When he was sure that she hadn’t messed her body up any more than she already had, he dropped back into his seat.

She closed her eyes and relaxed into the soft pillows. She should ask what type of mattress this was. It was worth saving up for--.

“Why’d you do it?”

She opened an eye to find Robin watching her intently. She sighed softly and turned her gaze to the ceiling. “I... the guy had a gun. I can’t -- or at least I thought I couldn’t -- get hurt by guns. Red Hood and that lady could. What else was I supposed to do?”

He frowned. “But you’re not invincible.”

“Apparently not,” she agreed. “But I thought I was.”

He didn’t say anything else. Instead, he stood and closed the curtains for her.

~

She woke up a while later and, after very carefully testing out her wound, pushed herself up to a seated position. It hurt, but she could make do. She checked her bandages just to make sure she was fine.

Then nearly jumped out of her skin as her eyes found Batman standing in a dark corner.

Her shoulders relaxed as he came to sit at her bedside.

“Salut,” she chirped, giving a small wink.

He didn’t smile, though that wasn’t all that surprising. “Hi.”

Her grin slid from her face as she looked around. “How long have I been out?”

“The better part of two weeks.”

Horror flickered across her face. “Two weeks? And you didn’t wake me up?” She started shoving her blankets away, only for him to press her back into the bed.

“Lay back down. You were shot five times, you need rest.”

She scoffed. “What I need is to report in for work. My boss is lenient but she isn’t that lenient --.”

“Relax.”

“Relax?” She repeated incredulously. "How am I supposed to relax? My job is on the line!”

“Your job will be fine.”

“Not everyone is rich! I can’t afford to just miss whenever I need!”

Batman frowned. “I can give you money if that’s what you --.”

“What’s with you rich people and offering money like it's nothing? My problem isn’t money! I actually enjoy my job, I don’t want to lose it!”

The man sighed and held up his hands in an attempt to placate her. “I can put a word in for you --.”

“And let you or my boss figure out my identity? No thanks! Let. Me. Go.”

They stared each other down.

“You’re acting childish,” he said finally.

“Childish?” She repeated, her voice screaming danger. She pushed herself out of bed despite the pain and stalked towards him, jabbing her finger into his chest. “You want to call me childish?”

She didn’t know why she did it, honestly. Maybe it was the stress about her job. Maybe she was still woozy from her bullet wound and the sedatives she’d been put on to lessen her pain. Maybe it was her anxiety about the fact that she’d been hurt. But she did:

“Mr. Idon’twanttokillanyone is really going to call me childish? Newsflash: your personal morals don’t matter! They stopped mattering the minute you decided you were going to become a vigilante.”

His eyes widened. “I --.”

“Shut up! It is your duty to make sure that these people -- these people that trust and depend on you -- don’t come to harm --!”

He frowned. “I don’t let them come to harm.”

“You don’t -- you --!” She clenched and unclenched her fists. “The moment Joker breaking out of Arkham became a pattern and you decided to keep sending him there, you began bringing harm to them. Every little breakout is your fault! You can’t seriously think Arkham will continue to hold him, can you? No! But you keep sending him and people keep dying!”

The man sighed softly. “I don’t want to become like the people who killed my parents,” he explained.

She tried not to scoff too hard at that. “Your feelings don’t matter! This is your duty now, but that doesn’t make it about you! Do you think I actually want to kill someone? To kill him? I don’t -- I’ve never --” She swallowed thickly, tears threatening to spill over. “-- I can’t even stomach the thought! But at least I understand it’s necessary!”

He opened his mouth to protest again, but she didn’t want to hear it. Tears blurred her vision as she picked up her yoyo and jumped out the window. She didn’t even bother to look back, to pay attention to the familiar architecture, to pause to make sure she wasn’t hurting herself more, to do anything at all.

All she cared about was getting away.


	22. Chapter 22

She usually liked to blow off steam when she was like this, but it seemed that things just did not want to go well for Marinette that day. Almost the instant she had gotten out she felt the stitches in her side loosen and start to tear.

A groan left her lips as she dropped into an alley to detransform.

She had to physically catch Tikki to keep the kwami from falling the moment she left her earrings. She frowned to herself. She’d never been transformed for that long, and the kwami was already weak. She poked the kwami’s face a little bit and Tikki managed to give her a tiny smile.

Her shoulders relaxed slightly and she pressed a kiss to the top of the tiny god’s head. “I’m sorry,” she whispered before setting her in her bag.

Now, back to the whole ‘yeah she’s gonna bleed out’ thing. She looked down at her side, where blood was starting to leak through her shirt.

Dang. She should have grabbed the bandages off her Ladybug costume before detransforming. She pulled some fabric scissors from her bag and cut a strip from her shirt. After a bit of stretching, she managed to bind her wound pretty tightly.

It hurt. A lot. Obviously. But it was bound and she wasn’t really in danger of bleeding out anymore. That would have to be enough.

She ducked out of the alley and looked around. Her eyes landed on the café and a frown played across her face. She had thought she’d been going in random directions. Did she come here by habit? Had it been a simple coincidence?

She found herself looking for Tim inside and didn’t know whether it was a good or bad thing that he wasn’t there. She didn’t want to get too distracted from the ‘need to stitch self up’ thing, and she knew that she would if she decided to relax at the café with him. On the other hand, she missed talking to him --.

Her eyes widened and she dug through her bag, pulling her phone out and clicking the power button.

Dead. Who could have guessed?

She dropped her phone back in and headed to the nearest convenience store.

The best thing about Gotham had to be the fact that you could find medical supplies just about anywhere. No one bats an eye if they see someone with a gunshot wound trudge inside, they just point out the first aid supplies to them. She muttered a thanks and grabbed everything that looked like it could be of help. The clerk took one look at her and shook their head, walking around the counter to go get the right things, and she mumbled yet another ‘thank you’ as she paid and left.

Good. That problem should be gone soon. She just had to get home (you do not treat a wound out in the open air, especially not in Gotham).

She walked to her house and sighed when she saw the door ajar. Really? Did someone really want to rob her right now? Really?

She dropped her hand into her purse and frowned when she realized she’d left her gun back in the basement. She’d hoped that Red Hood had the sense to grab it before taking her to the rest of the bats. It was a nice one. Also, she liked having the extra security.

Now, she poked her head into the apartment. She blinked a few times to try and make sure that this was happening.

“Chloe?”

The blonde glanced up and her eyes widened, then narrowed. “About time, Marinette!”

She practically stomped into her apartment, plugging her phone in and whirling on the girl. “How did you get into my apartment?”

“You should be thanking me!” The girl avoided her question, but before Marinette could point this out she was on a rant: “Do you know how worried my mom was? No updates for a week! She was about to march over here herself! And then I get here and you don’t show up! For another week! Do you know how hard it is to photoshop? To make you look sick enough to not come but not enough to warrant her coming over? To find that bala --.”

Marinette looked up properly when the girl’s voice faltered. Ah, it seemed she’d finally seen the bandaging. Chloe gave a strangled screech.

“OH MY GOD WERE YOU SHOT --?!”

“Don’t announce it for the neighbors to hear,” she complained, dropping onto her bed and looking through the things. The clerk had been nice enough to explain how to use everything, but her brain felt fuzzy.

Oh. That was probably a bad thing. Oops.

Chloe rushed over, phone in hand. She typed furiously for a second and then dropped the phone onto the bed beside her. A quick glance showed an article on how to dress a wound.

“I don’t need...” She began but trailed off at the sharp look she was given.

Chloe held up a needle and Marinette squeaked.

“It’s fine! I’m probably already on some sort of painkiller! I don’t want to overdose!” She said quickly. Probably not a lie, but definitely not why she didn’t want a needle stuck in her skin by an amateur.

The blonde sighed a little and set it down. “Fine, but you have to tell me if you’re in too much pain.”

Chloe really needn’t have said that. Marinette was never one to tap out, and she wasn’t going to start when a needle was the consequence for doing so.

She laid back and pulled up the side of her shirt. She closed her eyes and braced herself for pain.

And then a needle pricked her skin.

“HEY! WE HAD A DEAL!”

“I’m not stupid,” Chloe said. “I’ve worked with you before. You were never going to use this if I didn’t trick you.”

She groaned and rested her hands over her face so she didn’t have to watch. She still had a pretty good gauge of how things were going, if the constant ‘ick!’ and ‘ugh!’ noises were anything to go off of.

The door swung open only a few minutes later and both of them looked up.

Red Hood was stood in the door, an unreadable expression on his face. Then he sighed. “I owe Nightwing money.”

Marinette groaned and put her hands over her eyes again. "You don’t have to tell him. In fact, don’t.”

There was a silence as Red Hood apparently mulled it over. Then he laughed. “Yeah, that works for me. If he finds out he’d never let us live it down.” He stepped inside and shut the door, then walked over to make sure Chloe was doing everything right.

Marinette sighed. “Right. Introductions. Chloe, this is my friend, Red Hood. Red Hood, this is my annoyance, Chloe. Say hi, everyone.”

Chloe pulled a bit tighter on the next stitch than they probably had to and all the girl could do was wince. Fair enough. She deserved that.

Once Chloe and Red Hood were sure that she wouldn’t break her stitches again, she was allowed up.

The blonde crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m telling mom you’re going to work tomorrow,” she said crossly, before stepping out and practically slamming the door behind herself.

Marinette winced again. She really should have been nicer, Chloe had obviously gone through a bit of effort to help keep her identity and job safe. She made a mental note to send her an apology/thank you text later.

Her eyes fell on Red Hood, who was puttering about awkwardly.

“Why’d you come here?” She asked quietly.

“You were our best and really only guess for Ladybug,” he explained before hesitantly taking a seat next to her.

She rolled her eyes and pushed herself up to a sitting position. “Obviously.”

“You knew?”

“I don’t think most people have vigilantes outside their windows. And you guys got easily sidetracked from your ‘stakeout’,” she lied. She didn’t want him to think she was eavesdropping even if, maybe, she had been. “Why were you looking for me, though?”

He took one long, deep breath before wrapping his arms around her.

She blinked a few times before returning the side-hug. “Euh?”

“I’m going to teach you to spar.”

"Oookaaaay?”

He pulled away and looked her in the eyes. “When you were running at that guy... I thought you were going to die.”

She gave a weak smile. “You were the only one. I had no clue that the bullet was going to --.”

“It’s not even that.”

Her smile dropped.

“What you did was stupid. It was unnecessary! It was insane and brash and --!”

“I really didn’t take you for the one to lecture,” she cut him off, sighing as she moved to get up. “I was just shot, give me a break.”

A hand rested on her shoulder. It wasn’t a heavy grip, but it held her still. She looked up and saw that he was on the verge of tears. “And I had to watch you bleed out!”

She twisted her fingers in her lap. She couldn’t even respond. She had seen Chat and Parisians die again and again, but she’d never known what it was like to fear that she’d have to deal with life without them.

“That wasn’t even the problem, though! You just kept... running into the bullets! You were obviously in pain! What the hell were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that the guy clearly had a good aim if he could shoot between us as he did and that I was the only one who wouldn’t get hurt --” Red Hood’s eyes flashed dangerously and she quickly corrected herself: “-- the only one who wouldn’t die if he shot at me.”

He sighed. “Great, now tell me what you could have done instead.”

She blinked. “Sorry?”

“Instead of just attacking head-on, what could you have done?”

Marinette pursed her lips as she thought. She may have been known for her creative ways of getting out of problems, but that didn’t mean that she could always think of one. Sometimes ‘attacking head-on’ was exactly what she needed.

When she didn’t answer, he shook his head slowly. He held up a hand and started counting off his fingers. “We could have offered a lighter sentence in exchange for the lady’s safety. We could have negotiated money. Could have called for backup. Offered to talk it out --.”

“I get it! It wasn’t the best plan! But it worked --!”

“THAT DOESNT MATTER!”

She flinched.

His face softened a little bit. He took a few deep breaths before speaking again, in a noticeably gentler tone: “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. You... you don’t know your own limits. Or when to tap out. So I’m going to teach you. We can spar once a week -- in a dojo or something, Bats would kill me if I let you into the batcave -- and you’re going to have to learn when to stop for your own health.”

She frowned. “But the whole job is getting hurt. Criminals aren’t going to stop hitting me if I try and tap out.”

“Yes, but you need to communicate when you’re hurt to your teammates so we can cover for you.”

Marinette sighed and closed her eyes, then rested her head on his shoulder. “Fine. Fine.”

He wrapped an arm around her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Good.” He gave her a little squeeze. “Because if you don’t learn to tap out I’m benching you.”

Wait, what?


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You get one extra chapter today. As a treat. Because I was procrastinating the hell out of my economics homework

She pouted. “Ew. What’s with the ultimatum?”

“I have two younger brothers. I’m not stupid.”

"Fine. Whatever. I’m going to go take a shower.”

“Please.”

She gave him a small shove. “I was going to make cookies after, but I guess you don’t want any.”

His eyes widened. “Wait, what?”

A grin spread across her face as she got up and started grabbing herself some pajamas. “No cookies for you... unless you learn to grovel in the twenty minutes I’ll be in the shower.”

“Twenty minutes? Why do girls always take so long?”

“Not starting off well, are we?” She hummed, before slipping into her bathroom.

When she came out, her hair in a towel, he immediately wrapped her in a hug. “Ladybuuuuug, light of my liiiiiife --.”

Her nose scrunched up as she shoved his face away. “Ugh. I’d rather be insulted.”

“I can arrange that.”

She rolled her eyes. “Surprisingly, I’d prefer if you didn’t do either. What type of cookies do you want?”

“Macarons?”

She sighed. Well, at least she could give some to Tikki, she supposed. The kwami certainly deserved at least a cookie. “Fiiiine. The neighbors are going to hate me.”

“What? Why?”

“You’ll see,” she said cryptically as she started to pull out ingredients.

He waited until she had started whipping the eggs to insult her: “For a designer, your place is suuuuper boring.”

She opened her mouth to defend herself, then paused. “Wait, how’d you know I was a designer?”

The man’s eyes widened and he seemed to be mulling over how to answer, but he was saved from making up an excuse by a rapping on the window. They looked over to find a glaring Red Robin.

Marinette raised her eyebrows and turned off her mixer. Then she opened the window for him. “Hey.”

He was looking right past her, though, the offended expression on his face clear as day. “I cannot believe you came to visit Marinette without all of us! That’s not allowed!”

Red Hood frowned. “But isn’t that what you were doing?”

“Don’t change the subject!”

“But I’m not! I’m just saying that --.”

She left the brothers to bicker as she went to work on the macarons. She smiled to herself as she piped the little circles, then glanced back at the pair, who were pretty much arguing the same points over and over. She considered giving a warning, then decided it would be more fun if she didn’t.

She banged the baking tray on the counter to get the air bubbles out. Red Hood screeched. Red Robin’s head hit the ceiling.

She grinned as she set down her tray.

“Why would you do that?” Whispered Red Hood.

She gave a small shrug. “Needed to.”

She ignored their protests as she walked to her coffee maker, then glanced at Red Robin. “Want any?”

“The good stuff, right?”

“Yeah, of course. I’m not going to cheap out on a vigilante. The way some of you guys are you’d probably shoot me.”

Red Hood huffed. “You shoot one person, ninety times and suddenly it’s your thing.”

She blinked. “Is that a joke?”

“Yeah.”

Her shoulders relaxed slightly.

“I’ve actually shot ninety people, one time each.”

She didn’t know if that was much better.

Red Robin frowned. “I only know of around eighty.”

“Don’t tell Bats.”

Before either of them could respond, they heard someone knock on the window again. She glanced up to see Nightwing and…

Oh, come on! Why did he have to bring him along?

Red Hood let the others in with a small smile. “Hey.”

Marinette could feel Nightwing watching her carefully as she walked over. She knew he was looking for any sign she was injured, so she attempted to mimic her normal walking pattern.

“You’re walking a little weird, are you alright?” The oldest said, a smug grin on his face.

She was saved from thinking of an excuse as Red Robin walked over and slung an arm around her shoulders. “Maybe if you weren’t watching her walk she wouldn’t be overthinking it so much.”

She blinked in surprise, looking up at him. Had he not noticed her walking weird earlier? Or did he have a reason for lying? She didn’t think he did, so her limp must not be all that noticeable.

She looked at Robin. ‘Marinette’ had no problems with the vigilante, they’d never met before. She would have to be nice to him to keep her identity. She beamed and held a hand out. “It’s nice to meet you!” She chirped.

He blinked once. Then slowly, hesitantly, shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, too.”

The coffee machine beeped and the two addicts’ eyes lit up instantly. They walked over as a pair, both eager to drink some caffeine (Marinette’s withdrawal was killing her), but then a realization struct them. They eyed each other warily. They’d made only one pot of coffee. Sharing it would be...

She sighed and pulled away from him. He looked a bit apologetic but Red Robin was never one to turn down coffee.

She sighed. Fine. She’s got to drink something. She reached under her cupboard and pulled out some wine. “You guys can all have this, right?”

Before anyone could respond, Nightwing had snatched the drink from her hands. “It doesn’t matter because you can’t drink!”

Marinette raised her eyebrows. “It’s legal in my country.”

“But not in ours! Where you are currently staying! How did you even get your hands on this?”

She couldn’t tell him that she had gotten it as Ladybug because she knew the clerk wouldn’t ask for her ID, so she just shrugged innocently and tried to change the subject: “You’re more uptight than my actual mom.”

Nightwing scoffed. “Whatever.”

A grin tugged at her lips as she got an idea. “How about a bet? I call my mom and ask her. If she says I can have it, you have to let me drink. If she says no, I’ll give you all the wine in my apartment.”

“THIS ISNT YOUR ONLY ONE?”

“Obviously not.”

His eyes narrowed. “Fine! Call her!”

She grinned and pulled out her phone. She hid the screen with the illusion of hiding her password when really she was just getting rid of the thousands of notifications she’d gotten while she was out. She searched for a bit before facetiming her mom.

The boys clustered around her curiously. Red Robin rested his elbow on her shoulder, sipping at the coffee. Red Hood sat on her other side, his cheek pressed against hers despite her halfhearted protests. Nightwing was forced to stand on the tips of his toes to see and confirm that she was actually calling her mom. Robin stood behind the phone, peeking over to see.

“Maman!” She cheered as Sabine’s face appeared on the screen.

The woman blinked in surprise at all the vigilantes around her, then apparently just chose to accept it as a fact. “You haven’t called in ages!”

Her face reddened slightly. “Maman! Not in front of my friends!”

Sabine huffed. “Fine. We’ll talk about it later.”

Marinette gulped and nodded. The bat kids all gave her sympathetic looks. The feeling of ‘oh crap I missed too many of my parent’s calls’ is almost universal.

“Hi, Mrs. Cheng!” Chirped Red Hood, beaming. “We’re adopting your daughter!”

The poor girl squeezed her eyes shut. “No. No, you’re not.”

“Right, right, of course.” He nodded, then leaned forward conspiratorially. “It’s supposed to be a surprise. We’re adopting her. Don’t tell her.”

Marinette rolled her eyes and shoved his face away. “Don’t mind him. He’s stupid.”

“Hey!”

She decided that she should get this call over with before either side could embarrass her. “This is Nightwing.” She pointed him out. “He thinks you won’t let me drink.”

Her mother laughed, rolling her eyes. “This is all you called for? Of course you can.”

Nightwing’s face reddened. “It’s illegal to drink underage!”

“We’re French,” said Marinette with a sigh. She smiled. “Thanks! I’ll call you back when they’re not here! Bye, I love you!”

“Love you, too!”

She hung up quickly, despite everyone’s protests, and set her phone down. She gave Nightwing a cheeky grin. “Told you.”

The man scowled. “I can’t believe this. You’re a child.”

She grinned and pulled away from everyone. She brought down some glasses and glanced back at Red Robin. “Hey, you drinking, or are you good with just coffee?”

He mulled it over, then shrugged. “I’ll take some, I guess. It sucks to be the only sober one of the group.”

She gave a small nod. “Makes sense. Someone put the cookies in the oven. Someone else set a timer for, I don’t know, eight minutes and we’ll check on it.”

Robin ended up popping the macarons in because he was closest. Red Hood took out a phone (dang it, it didn’t even have any cool features for her distinguish, it was just a black phone case) and set a timer.

She poured out five glasses, much to Nightwing’s dismay. She waited for him to complain about giving Robin any, which would give a pretty good confirmation that they were the Waynes as he was still underage, but he didn’t. She was left to wonder if she was wrong about her assumption or if he knew what she was trying.

The tiny pout on her face disappeared as they clinked glasses. She plopped herself down on the counter and watched them drink. For the French, drinking was mostly a social thing that you did at a slow pace. For Americans...

Dang, are they even tasting it?

She rolled her eyes. “The wine will still be here in a few minutes.”

Red Robin grinned. “Not at this rate it won’t.”

She had to give him that. He really wasn’t wrong.

“Wanna play a drinking game?” Asked Red Hood.

Nightwing scowled. “No.”

“You don’t have to join in. I’d love to,” said Robin.

Hm. Maybe he was Damian Wayne. At the very least, he was definitely underage, if that look on his face was anything to go by.

Well, then he’d definitely be a lightweight. She suppressed a snicker at seeing the normally uptight vigilante without inhibitions, vaguely wondered if he would be just as annoying when drunk. Also, maybe, she wanted to spite Nightwing a bit for trying to keep her away from alcohol.

“Sure, I’d love to see what you Americans do for drinking games.”

She smiled ‘innocently’ at the glare Nightwing sent her.

They sat in a circle and she sighed as she tipped her head back to rest on the couch. “Really? I thought people only did Never Have I Ever in movies.”

“It’s fun!” Defended Red Hood. “And a good way to get to know each other, since you and Robin haven’t met.”

The pair in question gave each other wary looks from across the circle.

She sighed. “Fine. Never have I ever been a vigilante.”

Red Hood raised an eyebrow at her and she grinned at him, daring him to call her out on her lies right in front of Nightwing; he lost, obviously, and took a drink. Red Robin grinned as he tipped his head back to drink. Robin beamed at the excuse and downed his drink with only a little bit of coughing afterward. Nightwing glared at her over the rim of his glass.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to get us drunk.”

She rolled her eyes. “The minute I brought out the wine it was going to happen anyway. Thought I’d speed it up.”

He gave her a suspicious look but complied with the rules of the game.

She poured them all new glasses.

“Fine. My turn.” Nightwing gave her a cutting look. “Never have I ever designed an outfit.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “So bitter.”

“You’re one to talk.”

She could only laugh in response. She downed her glass and smiled as she poured herself another.

Robin grinned. “My turn, I guess.” He tapped his finger on his chin. “Never have I ever... attempted murder.” He took a drink. As did every single vigilante in the room.

Marinette blinked. “Is that allowed?”

“Who cares?” Said Robin brightly.

Fair enough.

Red Hood crossed his legs. “Never have I ever...” He smirked. “Surrogate son-ed my own brothers.”

The oldest cursed and took a drink. “This isn’t how this game is supposed to work.”

“We’re ‘getting to know each other’,” said Red Robin with a small wink.

Marinette grinned and got up to pull the cookies out of the oven, setting them out to cool and narrowing her eyes when she saw Nightwing hadn’t refilled his drink. She stared him down until he did.

She pulled out some more glasses of wine. At this rate, they’d get through her whole supply within the hour.

The moment she saw his face she knew Red Robin was going to get her. “Never have I ever... lived in France!”

She scoffed and took a drink. “Too easy.” She tipped her head to the side. Who hadn’t had any in a while? Damian was going to get himself to drink, so he wasn’t a problem... Her eyes zeroed in on Red Hood, who paled a little. “Never have I ever dropped by my house with the intention of hanging out with me alone.”

Red Hood and Red Robin both drank. Oh yeah. He’d done it, too. Whatever. He needed to drink again anyway.

Nightwing looked affronted. “That’s not fair! We come as a team or not at all! Never have I ever died!”

Marinette was horrified as she watched everyone except for Red Robin and Nightwing take a drink. “You what?!”

“Long story,” Robin waved her off vaguely. “It’s a Robin thing.”

She frowned. Then she remembered Desperada. She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly and took a drink.

“YOU WHAT?!” Yelled Red Hood.

“Long story,” she said with a small grin. “It’s a Paris thing.”

Robin laughed and shook his head slowly. “Great. I love her,” he said.

She snickered. “Man, how much of a lightweight are you?”

He only shrugged. “Guess we’ll find out. Never have I ever...”

And so, they continued on like that. Calling each other out on stupid things they’d done in stupidly specific ways, telling each other stories. It was fun, and she actually did find herself enjoying it, even if they were exposing the hell out of her.

Red Hood was conscious, but only barely. He laid next to Robin, practically screaming the words to Six in his ear.

Lucky for said vigilante, he had passed out a few drinks in and now laid in the middle of the circle, a few empty bottles were perched precariously on his stomach, wobbling unsteadily with every breath.

Nightwing stared at the ceiling with a mostly blank look on his face. He was mumbling to himself. She swore he was talking about the meaning of life.

Red Robin almost seemed sober, which was shocking because he’d easily drank the most. He smiled calmly as he sipped at his now-cold coffee, seeming content to just relax with his family.

Marinette, the least drunk because she hadn’t been known as long, smiled as she slowly pushed herself to her feet. She walked over to the macarons and looked at them for a few seconds. She’d thought she would get them done that night, but she was realizing that a pattern was emerging: she’d never finish baking anything if the vigilantes came by.

She set the cookies in the freezer to preserve them and hummed to herself as she set a blanket over Red Hood. “Sleepytime!” She chirped.

The grown man pouted at her. “I don’t wannaaaaa!”

She laughed and shook her head. “Well, you gotta. Sleep. And you’re sharing a blanket with Robin, I don’t have a lot.”

He pouted but did what he was told.

She smiled and set a blanket over Nightwing next. He barely even seemed to register the action.

That done, she sat down next to Red Robin and wrapped a blanket around them both. “You think you can carry these three home?” She asked, even though she knew for a fact that he wasn’t going to. She wouldn’t have bothered with blankets if she thought there was a chance of it. Still, she thought she’d ask.

“I don’t even think I can get myself home right now,” he admitted with a shrug.

She snickered and rested her head on his shoulder. “What’s your dad going to say?”

He grinned and put his hands up by his ears to mimic Batman’s costume: “‘How could you be so irresponsible as to let your brother get drunk?! You couldn’t even come home! Don’t you know your own limits?!’”

She blinked.

He coughed into his hand awkwardly. “Not that I’d know, of course. This is my first time doing this.”

“Riiiiight.”

Red Robin was silent for a little bit, then he laughed. “Did you really memorize your crush’s entire schedule?”

She blushed. “I was a dumb kid in ‘love’! Leave me alone!” Then she remembered something. “Wait a minute! You did it too!”

He snickered and rested his head on top of hers. “Yeah, but mine wasn’t a crush, really. I was just a paranoid, nosy little crap as a kid.”

She grinned. “I believe it.”

He huffed and rested his arm around her. “Rude.”

“Mmm,” she said vaguely. She closed her eyes. “Good night.”

“Good night, Marinette.”


	24. Chapter 24

She groaned when she felt someone shake her shoulder, nuzzling her face further into her pillow. Did she notice that her ‘pillow’ was far harder than usual? Maybe. Did she care? No.

“Encore cinq minutes, Maman,” she murmured.

“Marinette, please,” Red Robin pleaded. “I need to use the bathroom.”

“Sucks.”

The vigilante cursed and she tried her hardest not to grin. She waited a few more seconds to sell it before pulling away.

“Kidding, kidding.”

He gave her one tiny grin before running to the bathroom. She could hear the sound of people scuffling until, eventually, Robin was pushed out.

She shouldn’t laugh. Really shouldn’t. Everyone’s first hangover is easily the worst one, and he hadn’t exactly made it easy on himself the night before by gradually getting into it. But...

She wheezed, a hand coming up to cover her mouth in a fruitless attempt to stifle it.

His face reddened. “What?”

“You look like you got run over or something!”

He huffed and sat on the counter. “I feel like I got run over.”

She grinned and pushed herself to her feet. She dusted herself off and looked around.

Red Hood was easily the best off, puttering around the kitchen with interest. When he saw Robin come out he gave a cheeky grin and handed over a grocery bag. “Here, use this.”

The kid clearly didn’t know what it was for, because he nodded and put it over his head.

Marinette sighed and plucked it off of him. “No. It’s to throw up in,” she informed him.

He blinked a few times and then nodded again.

Her eyes fell on Nightwing. He looked stressed as he typed on his phone. He himself was drinking from a glass of raw eggs with a bitter look on his face.

She supposed she’d be looking bitter, too, if she was drinking raw eggs.

She shook her head with a sigh and walked to the kitchen and started whipping up a hangover cure. “You guys are vigilantes, how can you not deal with a little headache?”

“I’ll kill you,” Robin hissed.

“Oh, like you tried to kill Red Robin?”

His eyes widened. “Who told you about that?”

“You did. Last night.”

Poor Robin. He rested his head in his hands. “How much did I admit to?”

“You only got a few rounds in, so not as much as you could have,” she promised.

She combined her ginger, tangerine extract, and brown sugar, then handed them out to everyone.

After a few seconds of thought, she replaced the glass in Nightwing’s hand. She was pretty sure that the raw egg thing was a myth. He didn’t even notice, too focused on his phone.

Red Hood beamed as he took it. “Not the best, but I do like the taste better,” he said cheerfully.

“How are you... okay? You drank the most! You were blackout drunk!”

He grinned and ruffled her hair. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Yes! That’s why I asked!”

Red Robin finally came out, his hair wet. The moment Robin heard the door open he pushed past his brother to get back inside.

She grinned. “I guess he’s too good to puke in a bag like the rest of us?”

Red Robin grinned. “Probably.” She handed over the concoction, but he just shrugged. “It’s fine, I took a shower, I feel better.”

Marinette huffed. “I’d hope so. You smell like my soap.”

He gave a small shrug. “I figured I’d look like the responsible one instead of smelling like alcohol.”

“Oh. Smart.”

He winked. “I’d like to think so.”

The receiver clicked in her ear and she saw all the bats reach up to cover their own with pained expressions. Nightwing looked even more pale than normal. The temptation to turn on her own to see how guilty she should feel about them getting chewed out was almost too hard to manage.

Red Hood came up behind her and slung himself on top of her like a backpack, pressing his cheek to hers. “Thanks for the cookiiiiieees,” he cooed.

She almost pushed him off before she noticed something. She could almost make out the words Batman was saying. She rolled her eyes as if annoyed, but leaned into him.

“-- VE YOU LET ROBIN DRINK. HE’S A KID. LET ALONE YOU TOLD ME YOU WERE GOING TO GO ON PATROL, NOT A WORD ABOUT HOW YOU WERE GOING TO HANG OUT AT MARINETTE’S HOUSE. AND YOU RED HOOD, YOU --”

She winced slightly and pulled away. Marinette thought for a minute about how to help. “You should actually be able to get the cookies before you thank me, huh?”

He grinned. “I mean, I stole a few from the freezer, but I’d love a completed one.”

She rolled her eyes a bit but went to work.

Red Robin watched over her shoulder with a frown on his face. “You don’t fill the whole way?”

She shook her head as she carefully twisted on the top. “The filling would overflow.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“For taste? It’s great, but not so much for looks.”

He snickered. “Looks don’t matter here.”

“Obviously. Have you seen your outfits?”

His smile dropped and he crossed his arms over his chest. “What’s wrong with them?”

Marinette glanced at his face to make sure he wasn’t joking. And he wasn’t. Oh, wow, they don’t know. She was saved, yet again, by Red Hood coming over.

“Shoo! She’s making cookies! Don’t distract her by making her list every flaw of our outfits! She’s a designer, we’d die before she finished!”

She grinned and piped frosting for a little while until Robin stumbled out of the bathroom.

“I threw up blood.”

“Okay, but how much?” Said Red Hood.

Marinette rolled her eyes and gave him a small shove. “You’ll scare him.” She turned and gave him a small smile. “It means you drank a little bit more than you should have, but as long as it wasn’t too much you’ll be fine.”

“How much is too much? I thought any blood is too much!”

She sighed. “You’d know if it was too much. Relax.” She handed him a cookie.

Red Hood looked offended. “Why’d he get the first cookie?”

“‘Cause he’s suffering and you’ve already eaten a few shells.”

He gave a shrug. Fair enough.

Nightwing finally stood, groaning as he walked over. “Great. At least it’s mostly over. We need to head home before Bats gets even more upset.”

She nodded and gave them a Tupperware each (she had a feeling that if she put all of them in the same one Red Hood would eat them all). She wasn’t finished, but she only had a few more cookies to make, and she’d like to give them to someone else.

Nightwing and Red Robin were the first to leave, giving small waves over their shoulders as they disappeared around the side of her building.

Red Hood wrapped her in a hug. “Spar soon?” He whispered.

She smiled and hugged back. “Give me, I don’t know, a week.”

He pulled back and pressed a kiss to the top of her head before jumping out the window.

And so it was only her and Robin. She raised her eyebrows slightly as she watched him shuffle his feet uncomfortably, unsure if he was going to say anything if she didn’t make him spit it out.

She opened her mouth after a bit in irritation, but he chose that moment to speak up: “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have drank last night. I used you for alcohol, that was wrong.”

She blinked. Where was the prick that had nearly gotten them both killed in his anger? He didn’t apologize for that but he was apologizing for drinking underage? What?

“I’m not... supposed to drink.”

“Whaaaat? I couldn’t tell,” she said with a weak smile.

He only gave a small frown in response.

She sighed and rested her hand on his shoulder. “Hey, it’s fine. I don’t mind. Just be more careful about it while you’re figuring out your limits, okay?”

He looked skeptical for a second, before nodding. With that, he left.

She watched him leave with a small frown.

The worst part of cleaning wasn’t the germs, or the exhaustion afterward. It was the monotony that left you with nothing but your own thoughts. And she didn’t like where hers were going.

She’d been rude to Chloe. Right after she’d found out the girl had actually done something very nice for her. She was literally attempting to help make sure her wound was okay and Marinette had insulted her to her face.

And Robin... hadn’t actually been all that awful. He’d actually been rather pleasant to be around, he clearly was enjoying himself and his laugh had been infectious the night before.

Her grip tightened on her mop as she closed her eyes. Had she been wrong about them?


	25. Chapter 25

She smiled at her cleaned apartment. The maids hadn’t dropped by this time (probably because it wasn’t as huge a mess). She dropped onto her newly-made bed and flipped through her notifications.

A lot from Audrey, that was fine and expected.

A few from Dick. She rolled her eyes. Of course he’d try to use the fact that Ladybug was out to confirm his suspicions. She made a note to wait to respond for a week or so.

A couple of annoyed texts from Chloe. She stared at the name. Queenbee. She’d send her an apology later, when she actually knew what she wanted to say.

None from Tim. She frowned a little bit but brushed past it. The last she’d seen him, he’d been drowning in work. She probably would have been told if anything bad had happened by now, so she scrolled past it. She didn’t want to disturb him.

She closed her eyes and let her hand fall to her side. Her mind wandered back to Robin and Chloe. She really didn’t know what to think. She had thought she knew, but clearly...

She tightened her grip on her phone. Who could she talk to about it?

Her parents flickered in her mind, but she’d always thought it was hard to talk about things like this over the phone. She wasn’t going to fly out to Paris to talk about her feelings.

The next parental figure that she thought of, as much as she hated it, was Bruce Wayne, quickly followed by Batman. She dismissed the options immediately, though. She felt like asking him for help like that was admitting that she thought of him as a parental figure, and she was still insistent that she was not going to get adopted anytime soon.

Next older family figure... She sighed and picked up her things.

A short walk later, she was standing outside of Wayne Manor, leaning against a pillar. She pulled up her phone and bit down on her cheek. She supposed she might as well get the questions over with.

Definitelyforgottosleep: lemme in

Idontwantpicturesthatsjustmyname: I’m grounded

Idontwantpicturesthatsjustmyname: But ok

A few seconds later the gate swung open and she began the walk inside.

Definitelyforgottosleep: what did you do

Idontwantpicturesthatsjustmyname: Snuck out lol

Definitelyforgottosleep: did your dad forget youre an adult

Idontwantpicturesthatsjustmyname: Apparently

Idontwantpicturesthatsjustmyname: Jay’s here btw

She considered this for a second. Then she shrugged to herself.

Definitelyforgottosleep: thats fine

She grinned and let the door swing shut behind her, then checked a map of the house. She thought that the map was a little convenient (and a little stupid to have in Gotham) but at least it was easy to locate his room.

She slipped inside silently and was almost tackled in a hug by Jason. She groaned. “Ugh, get off. You’re heeeeaaaavy.”

He only laughed and gave her a squeeze. “You don’t talk to your brother for weeks and that is how you greet me?”

She rolled her eyes. “Not my brother.”

He pouted and pulled back, crossing his arms over his chest. “Hey, Dick, our sister is here.”

“Right. Sit anywhere, I guess,” Dick called from his spot on his bed. He was sitting, cross-legged, a book in his lap.

“I’m not --!” She began, then sighed. “You know what? Not worth it. Whatever.”

Jason pumped his fist in the air at the tiny victory.

Marinette glanced around and grinned. She wasn’t exactly sure what she had been expecting, but a neat room with a consistent blue and black color scheme wasn’t it. She raised her eyebrows at the picture of the original Robin hung above his dresser.

“You a fan?”

Dick followed her gaze and laughed. “You could say that.”

She raised her eyebrows slightly and dropped herself onto the end of the bed. She promptly sunk into the fabric and it took everything in her not to fall asleep.

Jason spread out on the rest of the bed. You know, like a --

Dick smiled. “You here for a reason or just because you like my bed?”

“Technically, liking your bed would be a reason.” Her smile lessened. “But... I need help.”

“Like ‘I need a person killed’ help or ‘dating problems’ help?” Asked Jason.

She laughed quietly. “Probably closer to the ‘dating problems’ thing.”

“That’s too bad, I could actually help with the first one.”

She couldn’t tell if he was joking or not as she watched him pull out his phone to play a game. She decided not to think about it as she propped her head up on her arm to look at Dick. “There’s... a person I know. She and I haven’t gotten along since... pretty much when we met. Recently, though, she’s been nicer and I don’t know what to think.”

“Does she have a reason for suddenly changing?” He asked, sitting up a bit and resting his head on his hands.

She thought for a minute. Normally, she would have thought she’d wanted her miraculous back, but... she hadn’t even brought up the kwamis since she’d found out she was Ladybug. Marinette wasn’t even sure that Chloe knew she was the guardian.

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, it’s apparently been a while, maybe she’s just grown up and wants another chance. What’s the problem?”

She shifted uncomfortably. “Problem is, I’ve come to realize another person that I thought was rude and annoying might also be a good person...”

Dick nodded slowly. “Ah, so you’re worrying that you’re a bad judge of character?”

“Yeah, I mean, what’s next? Damian turns out to be a good person?”

“Actually --.”

His voice faltered at the cutting look she sent him.

He held his hands up in a sort of surrender. “Alright, not the time. I get it.” He closed his eyes for a second, before giving a small shrug. “Honestly, Mari, I’d probably give an apology for judging them and try to get to know them.”

“But I know I’ll mess that up.” She groaned in frustration and rested her hands over her face. “Even if I want to try and be nice, I’ll just end up falling right back into being mean to them!”

“Sounds like you have unresolved anger,” said Dick. “You need to find a way to let that go. Move past it.”

She thought this over for a second, then sighed. “Jason?”

He was already up. He grinned and tossed her a duffel bag. “Let’s go.”


	26. Chapter 26

They snuck through the house. Did they really have to? Probably not. She doubted that anyone would genuinely care if they saw her there. Were they still going to? Of course. It was infinitely more fun that way.

Then, seemingly at random, Jason pushed open a door and gave a small bow as she stepped inside.

It was a dojo of some sort. The floors were lined with padded mats. On one wall, rows of dummies were lined up. On the opposite wall, she found a shooting range. The other two walls were ‘decorated’ with different types of weapons and, occasionally, the odd pad.

Jason hummed as he looked around, then rested his hands on his hips. “Right. Shooting range?” He asked.

She bit her lip and looked around. “Actually, I’d like to fight.”

His lips pulled into a slight frown for a second before he nodded. “Do you want to beat up a dummy or me?”

She blinked. “I’m not going to beat you up.”

“I meant with padded armor.”

Her lips formed an ‘o’ shape and she nodded, then considered the question. If he was wearing armor, then at least she could get in some practice on finding/hitting people’s weak spots. On the other hand, she was still injured; she didn’t know if she should push herself like that.

She glanced at him and bit down on the inside of her cheek. Would he notice if she was in pain? Could she do any intensive work? Did she want to risk it?

“I guess it would be fun to beat you up.”

“Ouch,” he said, resting a hand over his heart with a cheeky grin. Still, he started getting into the armor.

She stretched while she waited, closing her eyes. A warm-up was important, she just had to make sure not to flex her stomach and sides too much. This didn’t leave her with as many options as she would have liked, though, so she was done pretty quickly.

After a bit of looking around, she pulled on some grappling gloves. She flexed her fingers. “I like these. They’re mine now.”

“Sure, take everything but the katanas and the guns and you’ll be fine.”

She snickered. “Why specifically those?”

“Well, the guns are mine and I would prefer not having to go through the trouble to mod new ones. As for the katanas, those are Damian’s. They’re not special or anything, far as I can tell, but they’re his and you don’t mess with his stuff.”

She raised an eyebrow as they walked back onto the mats. “Is that a sibling thing?”

“Stealing each other’s things? Yeah.”

Marinette grinned. “Well then, I’m going to have to pass on your offer to get adopted. My stuff is my stuff.”

"Don’t worry, you don’t really have anything worth stealing anyway.”

She huffed and gave him a kick in the chest for the express purpose of watching him stumble back a bit. “Rude!”

“But true,” he said calmly, stepping back into position.

She didn’t respond outside of a punch to the face. Which, she supposed, was an answer in itself.

And, so, she worked. She didn’t go as hard on him as she usually would when training, because she needed to make sure she didn’t start bleeding through her shirt (it would be hard to explain), but she still threw a fair few punches and kicks that made him actually move. Occasionally, he would reach out and poke her somewhere to show her she’d dropped her guard.

She was in the middle of a roundhouse kick when he asked what must have been on his mind for a while: “So, why are you mad at them?”

She blinked and her foot passed through clean air, leaving her to spin a bit. She huffed as a hand tapped her back and got back into her fighting stance. “Why do you ask?”

“Figured that, as your older brother, I should know if what they did is murder-worthy or not,” he joked quietly.

She sighed and shook her head slightly. “Fine.” She threw a punch with the word to show her distaste, but still answered: “First one is Chloe. She... she and I didn’t get along from the start. We went through a lot of school together and she bullied me.”

She saw his eyes flare with anger and rolled her eyes.

“It was nothing really bad, don’t worry. And it wasn’t as if I wasn’t rude back at times.”

His shoulders relaxed a little bit, but he didn’t seem any happier about this information.

She threw a particularly high kick at his face and winced as pain raced through her. To make sure he didn’t interpret it badly she stepped back and nursed her hamstring as if she’d pulled it.

He dropped his arms and frowned, stepping forward, only to get poked in the nose.

“Dropped your guard!”

Jason’s eyes narrowed slightly and pat her on the head. “You did, too,” he said.

“Mhmm, but let’s not talk about that.”

He rolled his eyes and brought his hands back up.

She gave him a cheeky grin and got back into a fighting stance herself. “And then, after all that time, she finds out blackmail on me. Literally the biggest blackmail she could find. And she didn’t use it. She didn’t even threaten it.”

“Everyone has morals of some kind, what’s so good about it?”

Marinette shook her head slightly and gave him a quick kick in the shin. “You didn’t see her. She’s been helping me out a lot since. She didn’t even need to, and she went to a lot of trouble to help me.”

He nodded thoughtfully.

“And the other person?”

She hesitated to think up a name for Robin but then figured she might be able to get away with just not using one. “Right. He stole a win right out from under me. Cheated a bit, too,” she explained.

“And why are you thinking he’s a good person now?”

She thought of how to phrase it without looking like she was hiding too much. “We saw each other recently and he didn’t recognize me. And he was so... sweet?”

A sigh slipped from between her lips. Her hands fell to her sides.

“But even when they’re nice and all... I still can’t be nice back. Not really. I can do little things in short bursts... but it’s all fake and I just can’t seem to get over it! Chloe hasn’t done anything in years and R--Roy hasn’t done anything too bad since but I can’t...” Her voice trailed off. She didn’t know how to keep going. He seemed to understand, though.

She laid back on the ground, resting her hands over her eyes. She heard a dull thud as dropped down next to her. They were quiet for a long time.

Jason was the one to break the silence: “So, do you think there’s a link between the two for why you can’t get over it?”

She mulled this over for a bit. She came to an answer and sunk into the mat a little bit. “Me?”

He sighed. “No. Okay, yes, technically, but I don’t think that’s it.”

She dropped a hand and looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. “Then what?”

“Well... think of it this way: anger is a secondary emotion, right?”

“Secondary...?”

“Basically, anger is a completely different emotion that's boiled over. Usually sadness, but sometimes other things.”

She rolled her eyes. “So there’s some secret emotion I’m feeling underneath?”

He gave a short nod. “My personal guess is that they make you feel weak or inferior.”

“But I’m not.”

“I know that,” he said gently. “But from what you were describing... the first person bullied you, right? You said you fought back a little bit, but it sounds like you got a lot more than you dished out.”

She frowned. “I didn’t want to stoop to her level. The only reason I fought back at all was because of a friend I had at the time.”

He nodded. “Okay, sure. Then there’s a person that actively undermined you. You say he ‘stole your win’ but that’s not really much to be bitter about. Sure, it sucks, but you’re holding way more of a grudge than you should.”

She rested her hands on her stomach and stared at the ceiling. Maybe. But...

“But most damning,” he began, pulling her attention back to him, “is that you’re fighting while clearly injured.”

Marinette cursed in French. So he had noticed. She bit down on the inside of her cheek.

“So, yeah, that’s what my best guess is for why you can’t just ‘get over it’.”

She thought this over for a bit, before sighing. “And what do I do about it?”

“For now I’d apologize, explain that you’re working on yourself, and warn them that you might end up snapping at them in the meantime. If they’re actually good people, they’d understand, right?” He reached over and poked her cheek. “And you need to raise your self-esteem if you want to really get over the problem.”

She gave him a tiny smile. “You seem to know a lot about this.”

“I suppose my therapist would have to come in handy at some point.”

She was stunned into silence. He certainly seemed the type to need a therapist, but he didn’t seem the type to actually get one.

He laughed at the look on her face. “Yeah, Bruce makes it mandatory for all his kids. Us and our friends usually end up held for ransom from time to time. It’s good to have someone on call.”

Marinette nodded. That made sense. She bit the inside of her cheek. So, she needed to work on herself and apologize.

She pulled out her phone.


	27. Chapter 27

She bit down on the inside of her cheek as she stared at the blank message box.

“You know, most of the time people don’t apologize over text,” said Jason.

“I know that!” She muttered irritably. She turned off her phone and left it to rest on her stomach. “But what do I say?”

“Probably something like ‘Can we talk?’“ He offered.

“That kinda thing usually causes anxiety.”

He grinned. “Maybe in relationships.”

“And maybe in friendships,” Marinette countered.

He rolled his eyes. “You’re stalling.”

“Shut up!” She sighed and closed her eyes.

Could she just go over to see Chloe and apologize? Would she still be upset with her? And, if she didn’t want to talk, what would Marinette do? If she did want to talk, what would she do? Should she make it up to her? How? Chloe could have pretty much anything she wanted, what could a random girl do for her?

She felt Jason pull her into his side and managed a grin.

“How obvious is it that I’m freaking out?”

“Just a bit,” he teased.

She laughed quietly and picked up her phone again, staring at the message box for a bit before beginning to type.

Definitelyforgottosleep: hey do you wanna do something tomorrow

While Chloe had read the message almost instantly, there was no response for a good minute.

Queenbee: Sure where

Ah. She hadn’t genuinely thought she’d get this far. She closed her eyes. What did Chloe like? Shopping? She seemed the type who’d like shopping. But did she?

Definitelyforgottosleep: shopping

Queenbee: Sounds good

She breathed a sigh of relief, closing her eyes. Then, she glanced at Jason.

Definitelyforgottosleep: can i bring someone

Queenbee: Sure I don’t care

She opened her mouth --.

“Nope. Not going.”

She groaned. “Why not?”

“Because I think this is something you should do yourself,” he said simply.

Marinette closed her eyes for a minute. “Where’s Dick? I could probably guilt him into coming.”

Jason must have agreed because he sent her a glare. “I’m not taking you back to his room.”

“I’ll find him myself if I have to.”

He scoffed. “You’d get lost so quick.”

She batted her eyelashes. “That’s why I wanted you to take me. You wouldn’t let your little sister get lost, would you?”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “Oh, so now you pull the ‘little sister’ card?”

She only gave him a cheeky grin in return.

~

And, so, the next day she and Dick found themselves waiting outside the mall. She smiled at all the Halloween decorations, reaching out to poke a giant inflatable ghost.

“Do you not have Halloween in France?”

“No, we do, it’s just not as big a deal.” She grinned. “Do you guys really have Halloween in Gotham? You’d think that you’d avoid letting more people run around in masks.”

He gave a small shrug. “Halloween is Halloween, it’d probably happen even if someone tried to ban it. The bats just end up working a lot harder that night.”

She nodded her understanding. Her eyes slipped past him to where she spotted Chloe approaching, who looked about as anxious as she felt.

“Heeeeey,” she said awkwardly.

She glanced at back at Dick and swore in French when she realized he had retreated back a few steps. She shot him a glare as he made a small motion with his hands as if to say ‘go on and say it’.

Marinette took a deep breath and turned back to the girl.

“I’m sorry about treating you so horribly recently. You’ve been extremely nice to me and I’ve only been rude in return.” She swallowed thickly. “I’m not a great person, I have my issues. I’m trying to work through them. It’s not fair of me to take that out on you.”

“That’s why you invited me out?”

She seemed... disappointed.

Marinette hesitated. “Partially. I really did want to apologize, but I realized I kinda judged you without really knowing anything about you.”

“I wasn’t a great person to you, either, Marinette.”

“Maybe, but I shouldn’t have kept being rude to you once I realized you’d changed.”

“When did you...?”

A blush flooded her skin. “I... noticed back when you ‘found out’ about me. The old Chloe would have used it for blackmail or something but you didn’t. But I wasn’t ready to change.”

Chloe frowned. “And are you ready now?”

She bit the inside of her cheek. “I hope so. I’m trying.”

The girl considered this for a bit, her head tipped to the side with an odd expression on her face. After a while, she seemed to come to a decision.

“Hi! I’m Chloe Bourgeois. It’s nice to meet you!”

Marinette blinked and glanced behind her, but there wasn’t anyone there. She looked back at Chloe and stared at her outstretched hand. She was talking to her. It was an offer, she realized. A chance at a new start.

She took her hand.

“It’s... it’s nice to meet you, too. I’m Marinette.”

With the agreement obviously made, Dick walked back over.

Marinette stepped back so they could shake hands. “Alright. Chloe, this is Dick and --.”

"Isn’t that a little bit rude?” Said Chloe, her eyes wide.

“Nope, that’s my name,” said Dick.

“I am... so sorry.”

Marinette snickered. “His name is actually Richard. Apparently, they shorten that to Dick here.”

Chloe looked incredulous. “Why?”

Dick shrugged, then glanced Chloe up and down with a slight frown forming on his face. “I know you.”

“You do?”

He nodded slightly and scratched the back of his head. “Definitely... so where...?”

Marinette paled a little bit. With all her anxiety about making sure this went well, she’d forgotten that Dick had done research on Ladybug to try and figure out her identity. There was a high likelihood that he knew that Chloe was Queen Bee, and knowing her would be pretty damning.

“Don’t all rich people kind of know each other?” She said, her face stretching into a tense grin.

Dick gave a small nod. “I guess...” He said though he didn’t really look like he believed it.

She grabbed both of them by their sleeves. “C’moooon. It’s cold out, we can at least do this inside.”

Shopping with rich people was... weird. You have to be careful what you say. She would say a dress in the window was 'kinda cute’ and they would have their credit cards out in seconds.

One time, when Chloe had seen a store with a lot of outfits in a style she liked, Marinette had been forced to physically drag her away from the counter before she attempted to buy the entire store (not from buying all the outfits in the store, but the store itself). Dick had been no help, just calmly watching on and occasionally throwing in a ‘well, the outfits are cute’ whenever Chloe seemed to be calming down.

Of course, then they had to physically drag Marinette out of the fabric store.

“No working,” insisted Chloe.

She huffed. “But I only have, like, three months left! That’s not nearly enough time!”

“Mom said that four months is perfectly enough time for two outfits.”

Marinette rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. “And it is, but, uh... I may be doing six.”

Chloe stared at her in horror. Fair enough.

Then, Dick laughed. “No wonder you and Tim get along so well.”

All she could do was smile sheepishly. This smile quickly morphed into terror as Chloe took out of her phone.

“I’m calling my mom. We’re canceling yours.”

Marinette gasped. “No! You can’t.”

“It’s for your own good, Marinette,” she said, pulling her phone out.

She glanced at Dick for help, but all he did was shrug as if to say ‘she’s got a point’.

“Traitor,” she hissed, before making a mad grab for the phone, only to have it held out of reach. She tugged on Chloe’s arm, throwing her whole weight into it, but there was nothing she could do without compromising her identity in front of Dick.

Huh. So this is what it feels like to be on the other side. Man. This sucks.

After a few seconds of thought, though, she let go. “You can’t keep me from making the outfits. Not really. I’m still going to do them even if you cancel.”

Chloe’s finger hovered over the send button.

“And, when you see the designs, you’ll want to wear them more than whatever you can scrounge up from someone you find within three months. So I’ll make them.”

“You wouldn’t.”

She smiled innocently. “Oh? Try me.”

The two stared each other down, searching for a hint of a bluff, daring them to call it.

Chloe put her phone away with a glare.

Dick grinned. “Definitely see why you and Tim get along so well.”

~

At Chloe’s request, they walked into a costume store.

Marinette grinned at the new Ladybug outfits, trying to suppress a squeal. Chloe found where she was looking and laughed quietly.

“What?” Asked Dick, following her gaze and narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

Crap. She needed an excuse.

“I’m a little bit of a fan,” she ‘admitted’ with a sheepish grin.

Chloe tipped her head to the side as she took in the lie, then smiled and ruffled her hair. “Of course she’d be, her ex-best friend was obsessed with Ladybug. She had a lot of good stuff on her blog before... Lila.”

They both shuddered. At least they had a little bit of common ground.

“Why don’t you dress up as her for Halloween?” Asked Dick in a tone that was far too innocent. “You look a bit alike, I think it’d be cool.”

Marinette laughed and shook her head. “No, no. It’s like I said, the French don’t really celebrate Halloween, and I’m not that interested in starting in Gotham of all places.”

He gave a quiet huff of annoyance and they continued walking through. Chloe picked up a Heather McNamara outfit and grinned. “Well, Mlle. Designer, what do you think?”

She tipped her head to the side as she thought, then nodded. “That’d be cute. It matches your usual colors, too. I don’t think I can imagine you in anything other than yellow at this point, anyway.”

Chloe stuck her tongue out at her and she returned it. Because they’re both mature adults.

Marinette grinned and picked up a black wig, dropping it on to Chloe’s head despite the girl’s protests. “I say we take her into Wayne Mansion like this and see how long it takes Bruce to adopt her.”

Dick glanced back and gave a short laugh. “She wouldn’t even make it in the door, are you kidding me?”

Chloe blinked a few times, then gasped. “HOLY SHIT YOU’RE A WAYN --?!”

Both of her companions had clamped their hands over her mouth, but it was far too late for that. Now people were staring, and a few were fumbling for their cameras. It certainly didn’t look good, the eldest Wayne child hanging out with two girls who were barely legal.

Dick tossed a wad of cash at the register to pay for Chloe’s outfit and then turned to Marinette.

“Run?”

“Run,” Marinette agreed.

They each grabbed one of Chloe’s arms and booked it.


	28. Chapter 28

The pair sprinted out of the store, blonde in tow. It took about half a minute for Chloe to finally process everything going on, and another ten seconds for her to finally catch her footing enough for them to let go.

Marinette chanced a look back and cringed. A few people had stayed inside the store for various reasons but most were following after them, phones in hand. She pulled up her hood.

Dick glanced at both of them as they neared a crowded escalator. “Can you guys hop a railing?”

“Obviously,” said Marinette.

“... No? What the hell?” Chloe said.

Marinette and Dick gave each other a look before he groaned.

“Sorry about this.”

“About wha --?” The girl began but she, unfortunately, got her answer pretty quickly. He picked her up and held her to his chest, resting a hand over the back of her neck.

The two vigilantes gave each other a small nod before they jumped over the railing. Neither of them pointed out the fact that they both had perfect form, or that it was clearly an everyday thing for them. Because now more people were staring.

“Didn’t think this through, huh?” Chloe commented as she was let down.

“Shut up,” muttered Dick.

And then they were running again.

A quick look back at the crowd chasing them made her face pale. Fun! Now security thought they were thieves.

“Oh, come on, do you guys have to do your jobs?” She whined.

Ah, crap. They were losing Chloe. Dick was distracted, pulling out his wallet (for some reason) and hadn’t noticed.

Marinette bit her cheek. They could just leave her. A glance at the security footage would clear her name. It would be fi--.

She skidded to a stop and wheeled around. Damn it.

When Chloe got to her, she threw her over her shoulder and started up again. She raced to catch up with their third member, who was now dropping money on the floor.

She blinked a few times to process this, then shook her head and ran faster.

“The hell, Dick?” Chloe yelled as they stepped out into the sun.

“The fewer people chasing us the better! I can afford it!” He said.

They gave a pause at the edge of the parking lot. Their car was... well, they didn’t know.

“Random alley and hope we don’t get mugged?” Marinette offered.

“Yeah,” Dick said.

They passed off Chloe like a baton and then broke into a run again.

Five minutes later, they were panting in an alleyway. Marinette looked down to check her clothes weren’t originals before dropping onto her back and spreading out in the grime. Dick all but dropped the girl he was holding and leaned against a wall as he tried to catch his breath.

Chloe, who hadn’t run in a little while, was mostly just holding her probably bruised stomach (Marinette hadn’t taken time to make sure she was positioned properly on her shoulder).

“The PR team is gonna hate meeeeee,” complained Dick, who was sliding down the wall very slowly.

“You know...” Began Chloe, who seemed a bit hesitant to say anything.

“What?” Hissed Marinette, squeezing her eyes shut.

“You probably could have said that Mari was going to be future Wayne adoptee number 453542 and no one would have batted an eye.”

There was a short silence, then a string of very creative cursing from both of them.

After they had cursed enough to feel marginally better, Dick turned to Marinette. “Remember when I told you that you should let go of your anger?”

“Mhmm...”

“Not with her. Stay mad. She’s smarter than us. That’s not allowed.”

Chloe gave a short laugh and held out a hand to each of them to get up.

Marinette smiled and took it.

~

It took a week for her to be allowed on patrol again. This was good for her job, she was actually getting work done (she had even finished Adrien’s outfit!), but also dreadfully boring at times.

So, when she was finally told on the comms that she could come back, she was somewhat disappointed when Red Hood said that he was going to take the day to teach her sparring.

There was, unsurprisingly, a bit of an argument over this.

“Red Hood can’t mentor her! She already has fewer morals than us, we can’t just let him corrupt her!” Nightwing hissed.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re excused.”

“I’m doing this to teach her to communicate her injuries. Would you like me not to do that?”

Batman sighed. “No, but maybe someone else would be better suited than you to --.”

“I’m better suited than all of you!”

“Why don’t we just go over and abduct Ladybug?” Chimed in Robin.

“Yeah, do your weird dad thing and track his credit card,” said Red Robin.

Batman sputtered for a response, then sighed. “I guess I could...”

“Suckers! I’m using cash!” Red Hood said, which was met with a string of cursing.

Marinette turned off her comm with a small roll of her eyes. “Tikki, spots on,” she muttered.

Only to scream.

Because the hands and feet of her costume weren’t appearing.

She stared at the glowing purple at her wrists and ankles. As she watched, it retreated up her arms very slightly. Her costume was disappearing before her eyes.

She swallowed thickly. What could she do? She couldn’t really switch miraculi. Ladybug was already well-known enough there to have a costume made of her. But, ethically, could she continue on like this, knowing how Tikki must be suffering? And even if she did, how? The purple was glowing. It would be hard to miss.

Marinette mulled this over for a bit before walking around her apartment. She picked up the pro-fighter gloves she’d stolen from the Waynes and a set of parkour shoes. At least they were black. She didn’t know what she’d do if her outfit didn’t even slightly match.

A few minutes after she’d pulled them on, Red Hood opened the door to her apartment.

She blinked. “Didn’t I lock that?”

“Yeah, I learned how to pick house locks while you were out,” he explained.

She gave a small frown but shrugged it off and pushed past him. He caught her hand and raised his eyebrows at her new look. Dang, she hadn’t even gotten out the door.

“What’s up with the new outfit?”

She shrugged casually and pulled her hand from his grip. “Honestly? I was getting tired of the plain outfit. Figured I’d start upgrading it over time.”

He looked a bit skeptical. She couldn’t blame him. The last time he’d seen her in this costume she’d been shot. She’d think that she was getting weaker, too.

And she was. But he didn’t need to know that.

Okay, so maybe Jason had had a point. So what?

They slipped out the window and started making their way across the rooftops.

“You’d tell me if there was anything wrong, right?” Red Hood said as he hopped another roof with ease.

She tipped her head to the side and considered this. It was the whole point of what they were doing, getting her to admit when she needed help. But she brushed this aside. She couldn’t get help for this. The only way to fix it was to give someone the cat miraculous.

And she didn’t know if she trusted Robin enough yet.

So she smiled and shook her head. “Honestly, you worry too much. Relax. I’m a designer, remember? Of course I’d want a more intricate outfit than plain spandex.”

His shoulders relaxed slightly and he nodded. “Good.”

She bit back her guilt. “Where are we going, anyway?”

“Private studio.”

She nodded and they continued on in silence. She always hated silence. It gave her way too much time to think. About the way she was getting weaker with every transformation. About how she was supposed to hide it. About whether it was right to do so.

Marinette was glad when they finally touched ground outside a dojo.

They stepped inside and the person at the front blinked a few times. “It’s really you,” he said.

Red Hood rolled his eyes. “Take a picture, it’d last longer.”

She swatted him over the back of the head when the attendant actually began to take out his phone. “You can take one afterward, okay? We’d prefer not to be hounded right when we leave.”

The man nodded and sheepishly put his phone away. They were led into a private room not unlike the one the Waynes had (though, admittedly, far lower in budget).

Red Hood crossed his arms. “Right. Ground rules: we fight until one of us gives up, we have to give up when we’re in pain or completely pinned, and two taps on whatever you can reach is a give up.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Why two taps?”

He gave a shrug. “It’s what Nightwing and Batman drilled into all of us. My guess is one could be an accident and three just feels excessive.”

Marinette nodded. Fair enough.

She could feel him watching while they stretched and groaned. “I’m fine. I barely even feel it anymore.”

“We can postpone if you need, I don’t care about the money.”

She rolled her eyes. “Relaaaaax.”

All he gave her was a stern look in return.

“Kwami, you’re beginning to look like Batman, scowling like that.”

He gasped. “You take that back!”

“Nope,” she grinned, pushing herself to her feet.

They both got into fighting positions.

They eyed each other warily as they circled each other. Marinette didn’t know Red Hood’s fighting style for close-combat, and Red Hood seemed to be considering his options.

She chewed on the inside of her cheek as she eyed him up and down. He was certainly strong, a quick glance showed that, but did he know how to use it? He had years of vigilante experience, surely he must know some hand-to-hand combat, right? Then again, he was only really known for using guns. Maybe she could beat him, maybe not. She didn’t want to underestimate him...

He lunged forward and she had to jump over him to dodge, using his back as a vault so she could land on her feet. He stumbled forwards a step and whipped around just in time to earn a kick in the stomach. To her surprise, though, he didn’t double over all that much, only giving a small wheeze at the blow. He must be used to hand-to-hand, then, if he could take a kick like that.

Damn.

They narrowed their eyes at each other.

He ran forward, hand coming up for a punch. She grinned and dodged the easy attack. He must be trying to figure out her style. She’d just have to make sure to stay inconsistent --.

His leg swiped under her and she cringed as she hit the ground with a dull thud, only just managing to roll out of the way when he came down after her.

A hand locked around her leg and she cursed, kicking up in a weak attempt to break his grip, but he held fast. With a quick twist, she was forced onto her stomach to avoid messing up her ankle and she groaned as he leaned forward to press her head onto the mat. She wiggled around awkwardly underneath him, only to sigh when she realized she wasn’t getting out of it.

There was a beat.

She reluctantly tapped the ground twice.

His weight shifted off of her and she sent him a glare as she flipped onto her back.

He gave her a small smile, holding out a hand to help her up.

“You know, if I didn’t think Nightwing would infect you with his stupid morals, I’d let him train you. You have similar fighting styles. Very... jump-y.”

She scoffed and took his hand, allowing him to pull her up. “Fight with him often?”

“You have no idea,” he said with a slight grin. “Best two out of three?”

She nodded and brought her hands back up to her face.

After a little bit of fighting, she’d managed to get a grasp on his fighting style. It seemed a mix of a bunch of different martial arts, but he seemed to put an emphasis on pins rather than genuinely painful attacks.

With this in mind, she was actually able to win some. He definitely won more than she did, he wasn’t going easy on her at all, but it was nice to not lose every time.

Red Hood handed her a water bottle and rested an arm around her shoulders as she drank it. “Same time next week?”

She grinned and wiped her mouth. “Don’t trust me to tap out all the time, yet?”

“You’re getting better,” he admitted, then ruffled her hair. “You’re finally tapping out at the moment you realize you’re not getting up, but I’d like you to start doing it while you’re being pinned instead of after.”

She nodded thoughtfully.

“Fine, fine. I’ll... consider it.”

He sent her a halfhearted glare. She smiled cheekily and rested a hand over the doorknob. “Ready for the press?”

“Never am,” he muttered.

They both brought their widest smiles to their faces as they stepped out to greet the paparazzi.


	29. Chapter 29

Marinette smiled as she waved Red Hood off, watching him disappear. She waited a few seconds to make sure he wasn’t coming back before shrugging off her shoes and gloves.

The purple was higher now.

She swallowed thickly.

“Tikki, spots off,” she murmured, hand out to catch the kwami the second she appeared.

Tikki hit her hand, mostly immobile. The only way you could tell the god was still alive was the tiny twitches of her antennae.

She gently set her back in her bag and surrounded her by cookies. She knew they wouldn’t help, the kwami hadn’t used their lucky charm in ages, but she figured she should at least apologize for continuing to use her without an active Plagg.

Marinette dropped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling.

Ultimately, she didn’t trust Robin enough to give him the cat miraculous. Sure, he seemed to be pretty set on the good side, which was a giant plus, but she didn’t know if the two of them could work together without bickering.

She sighed.

Great. Then how could she keep hiding the fact that her costume was disappearing? It was disappearing at a pretty quick rate, the pro gloves and sneakers wouldn’t do much good for long. She supposed she could get a jacket... Oh! A leather jacket. She could say she was taking after her new mentor. Some boots to go along with it... 

She nodded to herself and put in an order to be delivered the next day. So that’s done.

But it was a temporary solution.

She eyed her bag. Tikki was always perfectly quiet, but now she wished that she wasn’t. She wanted her to speak up and say ‘Marinette...’ in that exasperated voice of hers. Tikki always knew how to be rational, she'd know what to do.

But she didn’t say anything, and Marinette was alone.

What could she do? She needed someone to hold Plagg and let out that extra energy to bring balance back, but who could she find on such short notice...?

Her eyes flicked to Adrien’s outfit on its hanger.

She bit the inside of her cheek.

~

The next day she woke to a knock on her door. She groaned and shuffled out of bed, blanket wrapped around her. She walked up and stood on the tips of her toes to peek out and see who was there.

She stumbled back and squeaked. Crap! Crapcrapcrap!

She ran about her apartment to pull on clothes. “SORRY, JUST A MINUTE!” She yelled, which was only met by a bit of laughter.

After managing to pull on clothes she ran to the door and flung it open.

“Adrien!” She chirped, pushing some hair out of her face.

He broke into a grin as he looked her up and down. From the mismatched socks on her feet to the rat's nest that was her hair, it was pretty clear that she had just woken up.

“Hard to wake as ever, M’lady,” he teased, leaning against the doorframe.

She gave a small huff. “Whatever. Your outfit is right there.” She motioned vaguely to her closet. She looked down at herself and cringed. “I’m going to... yeah.”

She darted into the bathroom.

When she came out, Adrien was completely dressed. He messed with his tie awkwardly in the mirror.

She frowned quickly fixed it, before pulling him into the middle of the room so she could see the entirety of the outfit. At the moment it was a plain black suit and dark green tie (she didn’t want to do any embroidery only to find she needed to change the dimensions it) but he didn’t comment on it.

“Um... how’s Paris doing without us?” She asked softly, pulling the suit jacket away from his stomach. He was gaining weight, she’d expected that, but she needed to figure out at what rate --.

He sighed. “So that’s why you asked me here...”

She didn’t bother to contradict him, he was right. That was the original reason why she’d accepted his request, she’d wanted to ask after Paris and make sure she hadn’t made the wrong decision by coming here.

When she didn’t answer, his shoulders slumped ever so slightly. “It’s getting better. The police weren’t prepared for us to up and disappear, so they were a bit out of practice.”

“But everything’s good now?” She asked, pulling a tape measure from her pockets and checking his waist.

“It’s getting there.”

She nodded and pulled away, murmuring to herself and writing down his new size so she could do some calculations later. She pushed herself to her feet and frowned at the tie she had just fixed. It was loose again. Had she messed up somewhere while making it or was he doing it? If so, why --?

It was here where she finally took in her ex-partner. His hair was far messier than she was used to, little tufts sticking up at odd angles. There was less makeup on his face than usual. She’d expected the weight gain, what with fewer patrols and constant fighting, but it had been more than she’d expected. That could mean...

Marinette looked at Adrien and gave a smile. “Someone took my words to heart, huh?”

His face reddened slightly and he looked away. “Is it that obvious?”

“Well, it took a professional designer a few minutes to piece it together, so I’d say probably not.”

Her eyes found their way to where the miraculous box was hidden. She’d called him here earlier than she usually would to ask him to take back the cat miraculous. She hadn’t expected him to start working on himself so soon, she didn’t want to ruin any progress he was making.

Then she thought of Tikki, curled up and almost completely immobile.

“Marinette...?” He asked quietly, resting a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m fine. I’m happy for you,” she said softly.

“You don’t have to lie to me. I want what’s best for you, I’m your partner, remember?”

She cringed. “I know. That’s why I can’t ask it of you.”

The hand on her shoulder gave her a tiny shake and she let her gaze fall to the floor.

And then he let go, his hand falling to his side lamely.

“I’m going to make your outfit baggier. It’ll help with covering any weight gain and it goes better with your messy look.”

“Okay,” he said softly.

The silence stretched on and kwami she just wanted him to talk because she knew that if he didn’t she would ask him and --.

“Can I see Plagg again?” He asked.

She looked up at him. Could he hear her thoughts?

Still, she nodded and walked to the miracle box and pulled out the ring. It pulsed with an almost blinding green light and she curled her fingers over it to block some of it out.

Plagg poked his head between her fingers and then gave a small “ADRIEN!”

She looked away as the two embraced, dropping onto her bed as they chatted excitably.

“Look at you! Finally gaining weight, I see? I told you your dad wasn’t feeding you well enough!”

“That was only because he didn’t give me cheese for every meal of the day.”

“And I was right! How could he deprive you of such luxuries? In hindsight, only he could have been Hawkmoth!”

Adrien laughed and shook his head, before pulling the kwami close for a kind of hug.

“So! Finally becoming Chat Noir again?”

The blond’s smile lessened slightly. “No, no, I’m not going to. I’ve been using Chat Noir as a way to be myself, but recently I’ve actually been able to do it without him. Besides, Ladybug is doing fine here, from what I’ve seen in papers. It’ll be fine.”

Plagg frowned and looked at Marinette, who had started making the ‘nononoshutup’ motion with her hands.

“You haven’t told him?”

She groaned and rested her head in her hands.

“Marinette, you haven’t told me something?” He asked.

She didn’t respond, gripping the ring tighter. He’d said it himself, he’d been doing better without the persona. She couldn’t ask him to take it up again, she couldn’t let him go back to the way he was. He was right, they were partners. She wanted what was best for him, too.

“Tikki is getting weaker without the cat miraculous being active.”

Adrien frowned. The bed shifted as he sat down next to her. “Marinette...”

“I’m dealing with it, Adrien, it’s fine.”

“I’ll take it back if you’re suffering.”

Marinette cringed. She wished she was the one suffering, at least then she would be able to get through it. But it was Tikki who was getting weaker, not her.

Was either of their potential suffering greater? Was it fair to let go of one’s happiness for another’s liveliness or vice versa? Could she even make that decision?

“I’m not suffering, Adrien. And I’ve found someone that I’ve been considering. Robin. I think he could be a fit, I’m scouting him out right now,” she said.

Not a complete lie, at least.

“Are you sure?”

She smiled, choosing to ignore the glare Plagg was sending her way. “Yep. I’d tell you if I needed you, right? We’re partners. Partners communicate.”

“Okay...”

She sat up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Anyways, you’re done here. I’ll get this to you once I’ve finished, okay?”

He looked reluctant to leave, but he gave a small nod. She turned around so he could change and sighed to herself when he set it down on the bed beside her. She turned back around and waved at him. He hugged Plagg and gave Marinette a tiny wave back.

“See you later, kitty.”

“Later, M’lady.”


	30. Chapter 30

She hummed softly as she walked through town with the horse miraculous. She watched people’s faces in search of some hint of recognition, but it seemed that she was still pretty obscure. Good. She didn’t want people to know that 'NightMare’ ever existed.

Outside of Harley and her crew, of course.

But, as her eyes landed on a person in the same suit as before and quickly found their way to the needle in their hands, she was beginning to wish that they didn’t know her either. She held her hands up in surrender as they neared her.

“Hey, it’s fine. I’m not going to fight, just put a bag over my head and we can go.”

The henchmen looked at each other awkwardly. Apparently, they hadn’t expected a near-child begging them not to put a needle in her. They didn’t seem all too interested in going against a kid’s wishes.

She smiled as a bag was put over her head and she was picked up.

She tried to track where they were going, she really did. But after turn number 14548 she started to wonder if they were purposely going around in circles to confuse her. Eventually, she tipped her head back and closed her eyes.

She was brought firmly to the present as the bag was pulled off, nearly blinding her. Her hands came up to cover her eyes again as she cursed in French.

After half a minute she finally could look up, even though she needed to squint pretty hard to do so.

It wasn’t just Harley and the Penguin. Her eyes wandered over each Rogue in turn. No one seemed to be distinctly hostile. Harley smiled and waved. The Riddler was watching her with interest, not unlike how one would look at a puzzle. The Penguin was sending her wary looks out of the corner of his eyes. Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman seemed uninterested.

She smiled and wrapped Harley in a tight hug. “Hey! Nice to see you again!” She chirped, making sure to keep her face in the woman’s shoulder when she said so. If they were calling for her, something must be going on. She didn’t think it was going to be pleasant.

“Nice to see you, too, darlin’.”

She stood close to Harley’s side. She was the only one reacting positively to her existence.

Marinette bit down on the inside of her cheek as she looked around.

They were in a different warehouse than before, if the box placement was any indication, but it was an abandoned warehouse. Inconvenient if they changed every time they wanted to see her, it meant her and the bats couldn’t just plant a tracker on her and plot an ambush at a random time. They probably could come by right now, but everyone was clearly on guard, probably waiting for that kind of betrayal. They’d have to wait until the Wayne Gala to capture them.

The silence stretched on and Marinette fought to urge to curl in on herself. “So... why am I here?”

To her surprise, Penguin was the one to speak up: “Nothing special, I just wanted to ask a few questions.”

She raised her eyebrows. “I thought I got my interrogation out of the way last time?”

He shook his head. “Different questions.”

“Okay...”

They both sat in the dust and he pulled out a set of cards. She frowned confusedly as he started separating the deck into halves.

He gave a small smile as he handed over half. “Do you know how to play War?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Of course.”

She looked him up and down. He was clearly different from everyone else there. While everyone else seemed to have some sort of manic light in their eyes, his were so cold and calm that she felt a shiver run through her as he stared her down. She’d thought Harley to be the most worrying of the group, she was most likely to catch her out on a lie, but Penguin... she felt like he could figure out she was about to lie before she’d even opened her mouth.

She swallowed thickly as she shuffled her cards a bit.

They started playing, tossing the cards onto the ground. It was a simple rhythm. Toss, toss, winner takes. He waited until they got to a pretty quick pace before speaking again: “What’s your weakness?”

Her hand fumbled her card. That wasn’t at all the subtle manipulation she’d been warned of. She looked up at him, tipping her head to the side. “I don’t know. I guess I’d do anything for my friends...”

“And I’m guessing you wouldn’t tell us any of their names?”

She tossed down her card and sighed when they matched. “I. De. Clare. War.” She considered his question for a second, then snickered. “No, of course not. I’m not giving anyone anything they can use to find my identity.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “I. De. Clare. War.” They examined their losses and then all of the cards were pushed to her side. “Useless ones, anyway,” he muttered, though he still seemed somewhat annoyed.

“Why’d you ask?”

“Just hoping that you would be easier since you’re a kid and new to Gotham,” he explained calmly.

She scowled despite herself. He was hardly trying at all. Was he underestimating her? Or was there some sort of secret game he was playing?

They started to get into a rhythm again. “Alright, so the friends thing is bullsh--.”

“Language!” Hissed Harley.

Penguin shot her a glare. “So the friends thing is a lie. What’re you doing this for?”

“Necessity,” she repeated her answer from last time, tossing down an Ace.

She grinned cheekily at him, up until he set down one of his own.

“Sure, obviously, no one comes to this side for any other reason. But what is it that you need?”

She pursed her lips. “I. De. Clare. War.”

“I. De. Clare. War.”

She pushed everything over to Penguin.

“So, what is it? Money?”

“Nope.”

“Revenge?”

“No!”

“Power?”

She’d been expecting the question. It didn’t save her from tensing, from the slight pause of her hand. Still, she tried: “Of course not.”

His lips quirked into a grin. He’d definitely noticed.

He opened his mouth to speak, but whatever he was going to say was cut off when Harley shoved a tray of cookies in their faces. “Here you go, darlin’s.”

Marinette smiled awkwardly and took one from Penguin’s side. Nothing personal, she just preferred if she didn’t get poisoned.

Then he grabbed one from her side.

She bit the inside of her cheek. Dang, had she guessed wrong? Or was he just trying to even out what he saw as a debt? She couldn’t really change her choice, now, though. She nibbled at the cookie. It was pretty good.

Riddler suddenly dropped down on their left, smiling. “Hey! Can I join?”

She tipped her head to the side, cookie dangling half out of her mouth as she glanced at Penguin. Even if she wanted to have some sort of buffer between the two of them, she wasn’t going to say anything. It was his interrogation, not hers.

Penguin sighed and pushed himself to his feet. He dropped his cards into Riddler’s lap. “I got everything I needed, anyway.”

Riddler beamed and took the cards from her so he could shuffle. “You up for a game of speed?”

She shrugged and nodded as she picked her deck. She picked the top few up and started organizing them. Riddler did the same. Fun.

They reached out and flipped the middle cards, and then they were off.

“Who are you?”

“Secret.”

“Were you from Paris?”

“Not every person in France is a Parisian,” she muttered irritably.

“Didn’t answer me.”

“Yes.”

She cursed in French as he beat her to a card, her hand fumbling back to her deck. She waited for him to either put down a card she could wait until he ran out of things to play. Hopefully the first, she didn’t want to get behind.

“Were you known in Paris?”

“Yes. Under a different name and with a different outfit, though.”

“Is this your first time doing villain stuff?”

He’d paused, his hand hovering over his deck.

They met eyes for a few seconds and then gave each other a nod. They flipped to a new card and the process restarted.

“No,” she said. Not a lie. She’d done ‘villain stuff’ twice before.

“Does anyone know who you are?”

“Unfortunately,” she muttered. She tapped her last two cards against her chin as he whittled his deck down to one card.

“Would you tell me who?”

“Not a chance.”

He grinned and they flipped to a new set of cards. They both glanced at their hands and then at each other. They flipped again. Marinette put down her second to last card and then they eyed each other. They flipped one last time --.

Nothing.

They both sighed and let their cards slip from their fingers. Two sevens. Club and spade. Fun.

She rested her head on her hand and then blinked as he thrust a hand in her face.

“Good game. I’d love to get to know you better.”

She tipped her head to the side as she considered this. He seemed to think of her as something to figure out, as some sort of challenge. She already had two people who knew her identity, that was already far too much, but...

She grinned and shook his hand. “I’d love to get to know you, too, Riddler.”

He smiled and started shuffling cards again.

She felt a weight drop on her and blinked up at Catwoman, who had slung herself over Marinette.

“I don’t have anything to steal,” she said calmly, popping another cookie in her mouth. She figured she’d already be dead if they were poisoned, Harley seemed the type to like instant gratification.

“Saying that because I’m a Rogue?” She purred and all Marinette could do was sigh as she was handed a deck.

“I’m saying that because you’re Catwoman, being a Rogue itself isn’t all that concerning right now.”

She pouted but her hands stopped brushing over Marinette’s clothes for something to grab. To her surprise, though, Catwoman didn’t immediately pull away from her. She just continued to lean on her as she and the Riddler restarted their game.

Five draws later, both of them were cursing.

“HOW IS THIS HAPPENING?!”

“I DONT KNOW BUT IT'S STUPID!” She yelled back, tossing the cards down and resting her head in her hands.

Catwoman rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her down. Marinette would be lying if she said it wasn’t at all soothing.

“Maybe this just isn’t our game.”

Riddler chewed at a cookie irritably. She would have thought that impossible a few minutes ago, but now she completely understood.

She smiled as Poison Ivy and Scarecrow came to sit on either side of them. “Thank kwami, now we can play something else,” she muttered half-jokingly.

Poison Ivy gave her a small smile as she looked at everyone. “Go fish?”

Marinette snickered. “Aren’t you supposed to be Rogues? What’s with all the schoolkid games?”

Scarecrow laughed quietly. “You’re a kid, aren’t you? Wouldn’t be right to scam you out of your money. Come back when you’re 21 and then we’ll talk.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Fine. Ivy, got any...”

She played miscellaneous card games until pretty much daybreak. They were all pretty evenly matched at most luck-based games, though Catwoman did attempt to ‘help her win’/cheat quite a few times.

Now, though, light streamed through the tattered blinds. She groaned exhaustedly and attempted to push the sleeping Catwoman off of her back, only to have her lean more weight into her.

She sighed and closed her eyes, allowing herself to lean into the Rogue. Just a few minutes...


	31. Chapter 31

She opened her eyes when she felt Catwoman detach herself from her. She felt two sets of hands lower her gently until her head rested on someone’s lap. She didn’t mind, didn’t even bother to open her eyes to see who. If they were going to kill her they’d have done so already.

Catwoman gave a sigh. “Well, I couldn’t find any bugs on her.”

“Nothing? No wires or anything?” Came Penguin’s incredulous voice.

“Nothing in her pockets, either.”

Marinette bit the inside of her cheek. She found herself suddenly glad that she’d shoved her communication device so far in her ear that she doubted it would ever come out.

“Told you she’s safe,” said Harley from above her.

It took everything in Marinette not to wince. She sounded so sure.

Riddler hummed. “I like her.”

“Only because you don’t know her name. If we could take that stupid mask of hers off then you wouldn’t care,” Penguin retorted.

“I don’t see why you’re so hung up on this,” said Poison Ivy.

“Because she disappeared for three weeks and then, just when we decided we needed to all see her, she appears?”

“I have a counter for that,” Marinette said and she felt the fingers in her hair still. She slowly pulled herself to a sitting position and lazily rubbed her eyes. “I wasn’t here for three weeks because I was shot.”

“You were what?!” Hissed Harley, looking more murderous than usual.

Penguin looked skeptical. “No one would shoot you if you were wearing that outfit.”

She waved him off. “And I wasn’t wearing this outfit.”

The man looked to Harley for confirmation, and Harley just shrugged and nodded.

Marinette stretched herself out and then pushed herself to her feet. “As for why I suddenly appear when you wanted to see me... I’ve been told I have a lot of luck.”

Riddler grinned. “Good luck or bad luck?”

She shrugged innocently.

~

Marinette dropped back onto her bed, resting her arm under her head with a smile as she scrolled through her missed messages.

Then her eyes landed on a specific username and her eyes widened.

Coffeeismygirlfriend: Sorry it’s been a while. Work’s been hell recently.

She stared at the notification. It had been a little over three weeks since they’d talked. After a bit of mulling it over, she clicked to open the chat.

Definitelyforgottosleep: its fine

Coffeeismygirlfriend: Want to meet up today?

She winced. She had actually been intending to be productive that day. She needed to get a move on with everyone’s outfits as she had, somewhat stupidly, given herself a lot of embroidery to do. She bit the inside of her cheek.

Definitelyforgottosleep: i should stay home and work

Coffeeismygirlfriend: Oh.

Marinette closed her eyes and rested her phone on her chest. When was the next time she was going to be able to see him? Had he made time for her that day specifically? And if he couldn’t do that as much anymore then couldn’t her job wait --?

Her phone buzzed.

Coffeeismygirlfriend: Want some company?

She blinked a few times, then broke into a smile.

Definitelyforgottosleep: sounds good see you in a bit

A few minutes later she opened the door to see a very tired looking Tim... so a normal Tim.

She beamed and wrapped him in a hug despite the two giant cups of coffee in his hands. All he could do back was kiss the top of her head.

“Man, I missed free coffee,” she said as she held out a hand for whichever drink was hers.

“Missed you, too,” he said with an eye roll.

He weighed them in his hands and then handed her one. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

Tim sighed and handed over the other as well. She weighed them herself and was surprised to find he actually gave her the one that had more in it. She smiled and handed him his drink back.

She pulled away and went to turn on her coffeemaker. Even if he already had some on him, the pair of them together meant it would only last an hour at most.

He made himself at home, taking his shoes off and dropping onto her bed.

She rolled her eyes. “Been here once and you’d think you own the place,” she muttered sarcastically. She didn’t really mind, though.

When Marinette had made sure that her coffeemaker was actually working, she turned around to find him clicking away at his computer. It was nice to hear again. A grin made its way to her face. “I can’t believe you got out of work to do work.”

He shrugged without a hint of sheepishness. “You’re doing work, figured I should do the same. Unless you’d like me to watch you stitch for a few hours.”

She snickered. “You could, I wouldn’t care. Be pretty boring, though.”

“Maybe,” he agreed.

She grabbed Adrien’s suit jacket and some thread, then dropped down next to him.

An arm wrapped around her and she rolled her eyes as he tugged her closer so he could still use both of his hands to type. She leaned into his touch all the same.

With that, she began to embroider. She’d had the sense to mark where she was going for once, so now she calmly poked along the edges of the tiny cats she’d drawn.

She usually put on music while she worked, but she found that she didn’t mind what she had now. The clacking of his keyboard, the dull thrumming of his heart, the occasional little shift of the bed when they reached for their coffees. It was soothing, she supposed.

She realized that, even though it had been three weeks since they’d last talked, she’d fallen right back into step with him. It felt like no time had passed at all. Still...

“I did miss you, you know,” she murmured.

His heart skipped a beat.

She looked up at him and saw a red tinge on his face. He looked away quickly.

She smiled and stole his drink. “Sucker.”

His eyes widened and then narrowed. “That’s cheating!” He whined, snapping his computer shut.

She laughed and picked up her own coffee as well. She pulled them both out of his reach.

Tim huffed. “I could get them back if I wanted.”

“Oh, really?” She cooed.

“Is that a challenge?”

She smiled. “Maybe.”

He seemed to mull this over. Then a grin stretched across his face as he continued to press against her side in a weak attempt to just reach the cups. Granted, he was pretty close because of their height difference, but it was weird he wasn’t changing his methods at all.

“I guess you don’t want to get them back,” she teased, leaning a bit away to get the drinks even further from him.

He laughed and gave her side a little push. She flopped back onto the bed overdramatically.

“Oh noooooo! I’ve been defeated,” she said with a roll of her eyes. She moved her hands to hold their drinks even further away.

He raised his eyebrows. He leaned over her and rested a hand by her head. It took a second for her to realize that he was definitely getting closer.

Her heart thrummed in her chest as his face got closer and closer to hers.

She shut her eyes on instinct.

Lips brushed against her cheek and she felt a cup get lifted from her fingers.

The bed shifted as he pulled away. She peeked her eyes open to see a smirking Tim.

She ran a hand down her face as if trying to push her blush down manually. She sat up again.

“Now that... that was cheating.”


	32. Chapter 32

Marinette bit at the inside of her cheek as she walked him home. He’d argued a bit that he’d be fine, that she’d be more likely to be attacked when alone than him, but she wasn’t having it. Now, though, she wished she had just let him go because the silence was killing her.

She wanted to ask about their near-kiss, she really did, but she couldn’t be the one to bring that up! What if she was wrong? Had it been an accident when he was trying to grab the coffee back? Was she only hoping it was flirting?

And he wasn’t mentioning it, either.

She couldn’t seem to think of much else, unfortunately, so the silence stretched on.

After what felt like years of walking they reached Wayne Manor.

She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “If you go another three weeks without talking to me I’m telling Jason.”

Tim gasped quietly and instantly the tension between them shattered. “Traitor!”

“Just be glad I’m not telling Dick how much coffee you drink when you’re with me.”

“Only because he’d think you’re a bad influence,” he argued. “If anything I’m the one keeping that secret for you.”

She grinned. “Sure, sure.”

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “See you later, bean.”

She blinked once at the nickname, then smiled as a blush fought its way onto her face. “Later,” she mumbled.

She watched his retreating back walk up the hill and then turned around to walk home.

Her skin prickled.

She was being watched. She searched the crowds for a flash of light, some hint of the paparazzi. She didn’t know if she was comforted or put on edge when she couldn’t find any.

Marinette pulled her bag closer to herself. Should she call Tim back down? Ask him to send her a car? Was she just overreacting?

She looked around for a group heading in the direction she needed to go and started walking. She turned off early to make sure and frowned when a man in a suit followed after her.

She was only more worried as she realized she’d seen the suit before.

The girl broke into a run.

There was a curse from behind her and they picked up speed. She heard a crackling noise from behind her and he yelled something in a language she didn’t understand. She hoped it wasn’t what she thought it was.

She darted down the alley, only to find another person in a suit rounding the corner.

Great. He’d called for backup. She hated it when she was right.

Her eyes flickered over the alley for anything she could use. There was a dumpster, but it wasn’t high enough for her to get to the roof. The fire escape, then?

She’d barely gotten a few rungs up before a hand locked around her ankle and twisted.

A pained cry slipped from between her lips.

She let go and dropped into waiting arms.

A burlap sack was forced over her head.

She didn’t bother to struggle as they carried her through the streets. What was she going to do even if she managed to get out of their grip? Run? Her ankle wouldn’t like that.

It was somewhat annoying that she could hear people talking, could feel them looking at her, but they weren’t actually putting in an effort to help. She had to remind herself that they were civilians, that they probably wouldn’t be of much help even if they tried, but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t hurtful.

She was thrown into a chair with way more force than necessary and fought back the urge to throw a blind punch as a hand touched her wrist. They’d already shown they didn’t care if she was hurt. She didn’t want to test them. She allowed them to bind her wrists and ankles.

When the sack was finally pulled off of her she found herself in a new abandoned warehouse. How many did these people have?

Harley Quinn stepped into the light and Marinette bit the inside of her cheek anxiously. Had they figured her out? Was it just chance? She did have pretty rotten luck, this would be very like her.

“Hello, miss,” she mumbled.

The woman smiled and rested a hand on top of her head. “Hey, darlin’!”

“Is... is there a reason I’m here? Did I do something?”

“Guilty conscience?” She cooed, her blue eyes sparkling with interest.

Marinette swallowed thickly. “I guess. But, really, is there a reason or...?”

Harley raised her eyebrows slightly and then glanced around. It was here where Marinette realized it wasn’t just the two of them. Her eyes flicked to Poison Ivy and Scarecrow.

“You’ll be fine, we don’t want to hurt you,” said Poison Ivy, resting a hand on Marinette’s shoulder.

“Too late for that,” she muttered bitterly.

The Rogues all frowned and looked at each other.

“What?” Asked Scarecrow when Marinette didn’t offer any information.

Oh. Oh. They don’t know! Her eyes flicked to the two who had chased her and found them shuffling anxiously from foot to foot.

Well, if she was going to die, she might as well take some assholes down with her.

“Those two twisted my ankle when I ran from them. I think it’s sprained.”

The Rogues’ eyes flashed with anger and she felt a twinge of guilt as Scarecrow grabbed them both and dragged them away.

Poison Ivy leaned down and untied her ankles, only to wince. Wow. That must not be good. She walked away and came back with a cup of tea and some elastic bandaging.

“Here, this should help with the pain,” said Harley, untying one of her hands so she could actually drink.

Marinette smiled weakly. She really hadn’t expected things to go like this when being kidnapped, but she wasn’t complaining. She sipped at the drink and suppressed a cringe, but continued to drink. “I still don’t know why I’m here...”

“Well, we’re kinda short on money at the moment,” explained Harley.

She bit the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from asking if it was because they kept renting out warehouses every time they saw her.

“I don’t have any money for you, I haven’t even paid off my apartment yet.”

Poison Ivy shook her head and started bandaging her ankle. “Not from you, from your friend. The Wayne... wait, your friend is a billionaire and you have an apartment?”

Her face reddened. “Hey! I could like apartments!”

“You said ‘could’, so you don’t,” Harley pointed out.

She huffed and drank her tea again. Which was more bitter: her expression or the drink? Who knows.

“Anyways, we’re holding you for ransom,” explained Poison Ivy. “We might do some makeup on you to make it look like we roughed you up a little if he takes too long, but we really had no intention of hurting you.”

As if to prove her point, one of the men from earlier gave a guttural scream. Marinette’s eyes widened. She hadn’t heard a sound like that in ages, that kind of senseless pain and fear. What was he doing to them? She hadn’t thought much about what would happen but really they deserved --.

“STOP!”

Poison Ivy paused the bandaging of her ankle.

“I’m fine, really, it’s just a little pain. It’ll be gone in a week. Don’t...” Marinette swallowed thickly. “Don’t hurt them. Please.”

The silence was deafening. Then Harley stood up and walked off, hopefully to tell Scarecrow to stop.

Marinette reached into her purse and pulled out her phone, handing it over to Poison Ivy.

She blinked. “Why?”

The real reason was because Tikki was in her purse and she didn’t need them finding out her identity but, instead, she smiled and said: “Might as well just hand it over? Get this over with?”

She frowned a little bit but started scrolling through her contacts until she found the one labeled ‘Tim Wayne’. She clicked it and held it to her ear.

“Marinette? You’re calling? What happened?” He asked, his voice panicked.

Harley walked in with Scarecrow in tow. Marinette looked around for the two she’d been chased by, but they didn’t reappear. Her voice shook as she spoke: “I’m getting held for ransom.”

“Alright, how much?”

She blinked. Oh, right, Jason had mentioned that this sometimes happened to the Waynes and their friends. She didn’t know whether it comforted or concerned her to know this was common enough for him to not really be fazed by it.

“Bean?”

She snapped out of it. “He wants to know how much money you want.”

“She’s cute, I say at least a hundred,” said Harley.

“No, that’ll take a while, I say fifty,” offered Poison Ivy.

“What about we meet in the middle and say seventy-five?” Scarecrow offered, rolling his eyes.

No one argued this, so Marinette sighed. “Seventy-five thousand.”

Tim sighed softly. “Fine, where are you?”

She passed the address on and Poison Ivy hung up.

Marinette sighed as she sipped at her tea. “How long does this usually take?”

“Anywhere from an hour to two days.”

She groaned and rested her head back.

Marinette cringed as, the moment her tea was gone, they tied her hand back to her chair. She was hoping they’d forget and she could make a great escape in case it took too long.

She tipped her head back. “Fun. Wanna play cards?”

About five hours later, Tim walked in with a duffel bag over his shoulder. The four were drinking tea together over a game of poker (Marinette was glad they weren’t playing for money because she was losing pretty bad).

Everyone looked up as the door shut behind him.

“Oh, hey,” Marinette said with a tiny wave.

“Bean... did you... make friends with them? They kidnapped you!”

“I’m over it.” She cursed in French as she saw her hand. “What I’m not over is how you’re all cheating!”

“We’re not! You can’t prove it!” Said Poison Ivy, which wasn’t suspicious at all.

Marinette sighed when everyone revealed their hands. Great. She’d lost again.

The game done, Harley skipped over to Tim, holding her hand out for the money.

He didn’t smile. “Let me make sure she’s okay first.”

Scarecrow narrowed his eyes suspiciously but, with a glance from Harley, he untied Marinette’s legs so she could get up.

She stretched out a bit then made to walk over to Tim --.

Ah. Her ankle. She’d forgotten about that.

She suppressed the instinct to tap twice (damn it, Red Hood--) and shifted her weight.

Tim’s eyes narrowed at the pause in her step.

“You’re hurt,” he said. His hands gripped the bag tighter.

“The two who did it were... appropriately punished,” promised Scarecrow.

This didn’t seem to make Tim feel any better.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” Marinette said, smiling at him.

She limped over to him.

“Hand it over,” said Poison Ivy, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

Tim nodded and dropped the bag at their feet. The three Rogues quickly darted forward to grab it and started sifting through the money.

Marinette watched her friend struggle for a minute before sighing.

“Can I pick you up?”

She blushed and nodded.

He picked her up bridal style and gave the Rogues a small nod before leaving.

“Why don’t you arrest them?” She mumbled, resting her head on his shoulder.

“It’s more complicated than that, unfortunately.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

She nodded. “I’ve dealt with worse,” she mumbled.

His face didn’t look any less grim, but he nodded.

“Sorry about the money. I’ll pay --.”

“Forget it. I had to ask my brothers for some cash to get there quickly but it’s fine.”

She blinked a few times as she processed his words. And then: “YOU HAD SEVENTY-FIVE THOUSAND ON HAND AND IVE BEEN USING YOU FOR COFFEE?!”


	33. Chapter 33

How did she end up staying at Wayne Manor for a week and a half? Deception. She’d never felt more betrayed than she did at that moment. And to think, she and Tim had been friends. 

She’d rolled her eyes when Wayne Manor came into view.

“I can go home, you know.”

“Says the person who got kidnapped on her way there,” responded Tim with a sigh. He paused at the gate as they waited for it to open. “Besides, your ankle’s messed up. You shouldn’t be walking.”

She groaned and tipped her head back against his arm so she could glare at him. “I’m fine.”

He had looked away for a moment, using the gate opening as an excuse, then he started walking. After a while, he hesitantly looked at her. “But I’m not! You got hurt because of me. Please, just... let me take care of you for a little bit.”

Her face burned. “Fine. I’ll stay until Halloween. Happy?”

He seemed to consider this, then shook his head. “But, bean, that’s tomorrow! At least stay here for proper treatment, then you can go.”

She raised her eyebrows. “I could get proper treatment without you.”

He had only sighed in response.

She bit the inside of her cheek. “Fine. Fine. I’ll stay until I’m healed.”

“Really?” He asked, his face full of hope.

She nodded.

And then, much to her horror, a smug smile stretched across his face. “No take backs! Sucker!”

Truly horrible. She’d never trust again.

~

Still, she'd be lying if she said she didn’t have a good time.

After ‘convincing’ (begging) them to go to her apartment and get her supplies she’d started working on the outfits for the steadily approaching Gala. She’d intended to do most of her embroidery while she was there because it was calming and repetitive and she’d be able to relax with Tim... but then Dick had seen what she was doing and had nerded out with her about outfits and design. It turned out one person in their family did have a little bit of style, and she was ecstatic. Now she lazed on his way-too-comfortable bed and worked while babbling on about her designs. And he actually understood what she was saying. It was great.

And, when she wasn’t designing, she’d often be found drinking coffee with Tim (the Waynes had bought another machine for her after the first day’s... ‘incident’). They would lean against each other and drink in comfortable silence, which is exactly what everyone wants in the early morning. Who cares if it was three in the afternoon? With their sleep schedules, it was practically like being awake at five in the morning anyway.

At other times she and Jason could be found together. This was less fun because he was the one most pressed about her ankle. While everyone knew that her foot would probably be fine in a week’s time, he was the one to practically carry her everywhere like a damsel in distress. He’d learned to stop when she kicked him in the shin (with her bad leg, it was not a good time for either of them), but he was still extremely worried for her and not at all concerned with hiding it. Still, he made it up to her by sneaking her extra coffees (Dick had set a limit when he’d seen the way Tim and her binge-drank when with each other).

The only bad part was...

Her and Damian locked eyes across the table and they sent each other a glare. She didn’t even know why his presence irritated her to no end, didn’t know why her veins buzzed whenever he got too close; she only knew that she didn’t like it.

She didn’t act on it that much, surprisingly. She had no real reason to be angry with him, the slight rudeness he’d presented the day they’d met was perfectly justified. Marinette settled for the occasional snide comment at the table.

This only seemed to upset him more and more as time went on.

Finally, when her leg was healed (Jason had managed to convince her to stay an extra day to be sure), he’d grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her away from Tim before either of them could really react.

“What’s your problem?” She hissed as he pulled her along, struggling to not spill her coffee due to their brisk pace.

He dragged her into the dojo and crossed his arms over his chest. “Me? You’re the one who’s been rude the whole time you’ve been staying here!”

She couldn’t respond. He had a bit of a point. She settled for sending him a glare over the rim of her cup.

“What do you have against me?”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Does it matter?”

“Yes! Obviously!”

“Maybe I just don’t like people.”

“You made friends with the Rogues!”

Oh. So that’s what this was about. She lowered her drink slightly. “Maybe I just don’t like you,” she corrected herself.

Damian scoffed and shook his head. “Whatever. You don’t want to answer? Fine. Fight me.”

Marinette felt like she had whiplash. He’d gone from being annoyed that she wasn’t being nice to him to wanting to fight in approximately half a second. Still, she had to admit, fighting him would probably be nice. Not only did she miss the adrenaline of a fight, but a tiny part of her hoped that her anger would dissipate if she gave him a punch or two.

She set down her drink. “Sure. Whatever.”

He looked a bit smug. They walked along the walls and pulled off equipment that they deemed necessary. Basically, they both pulled on some grappling gloves and she added an ankle brace to make sure she didn’t instantly mess up her leg again.

After a few minutes of stretching, they squared up to each other on the mat.

She grinned and raised her hands to her face. She didn’t actually know how good he was, but she wasn’t all that intent on going easy on him. They had a dojo, he had to have some kind of fighting expertise, that only made --.

Marinette was pulled from her thoughts as a punch came at her face. She dodged with ease and backed up a few steps, raising her guard properly. All she needed was to take her time to learn his fighting style.

She smiled as she dodged his attacks. He was getting angrier, sloppier, with every miss. His style was getting more and more obvious. Just a few more attacks and she would be completely sure --.

His fist came for her throat.

She had to do a backflip to avoid the blow.

His eyes widened.

She cursed mentally. She’d given up her one possible advantage: the high chances of him underestimating her.

Her element of surprise gone, she forced herself to go on the offense. She threw a short jab at him and raised her eyebrows at the almost practiced nature of his block, like he’d done this exact motion a million times.

Her lips twitched. Amateurs are usually the ones who choreograph their moves like that --.

Realization struck her just as his fist did, sending her back a few steps.

Her body moved on autopilot, sending a kick at his chest to get him away so she could recover. His hand locked on her foot and one of his legs swept hers out from under her. A curse slipped from between her lips as her back hit the mat, but it was nothing compared to her reaction when he dropped a bit of weight on the leg he held. Pain pulled a strangled sob from her throat and she thought her leg would shatter.

Her hand slammed the ground twice.

Damian stopped instantly at the motion a worried expression flickering across his features. Red Hood wasn’t lying, the reaction had been instantaneous in both of them. They’d both been drilled, both had the same cues. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together.

And, unfortunately, Damian wasn’t completely stupid. She saw confusion find its way across his face. And then shock. Denial. Understanding. Anger. And then acceptance.

He dropped onto the mat beside her and covered his face with his hands. “You’re Ladybug.”

“And you’re Robin,” she agreed, pulling her still throbbing leg to her chest. “You suck with and without the outfit. It makes sense,” she muttered.

And, sadly, it really did make sense. The buzzing under her skin she’d interpreted as anger was just the cat miraculous calling out to her, to its guardian, waving its arms and screaming at her to just let him use it. And, now that she thought about it, it could only have been him. She’d probably recognized the feeling she had around Damian as the one she had around Robin subconsciously and transferred that anger onto him.

“You can’t tell anyone,” she warned.

He scoffed. “Why would I hide it? They already suspect you. Besides, it’s not like the rest of my family would care, they love you with and without the costume.”

She sat up and sent him a glare. “It’s not about that. I keep my identity secret because I want to. It’s my privacy, my secret, and you don’t get to a choice in this.”

Damian -- no, Robin -- no -- He opened his fingers to peek at her serious face and she caught an eye roll.

“And, if you don’t...” She added, her voice sickly sweet. “I’m sure your family would love to know exactly how I found out who you all were.”

It was a guess, really. She assumed that, because they were pretty open about being family as vigilantes, they all had to be in on it when they told someone about their identities. But it was still a guess. She gave him her most confident look so he wouldn’t think she was bluffing.

His eyes narrowed and he sat up as well. She scrutinized his face; she looked for fear or annoyance or something, but he’d managed to put together a perfect mask.

And then...

He sighed and stuck his hand out. “Fine. I don’t tell them anything, you don’t tell them anything. Deal?”

They shook on it.

“Deal.”

~

She spent the next three days (because Jason had thrown a fit when he’d realized she had messed up her ankle more) observing the family. It would be beneficial to learn which bat corresponded to which Wayne, it made it easier to keep her lies consistent.

She could go off of ages, of course. It was the easy way to guess, but she’d never been one to take the easy way.

Besides, the ‘hard way’ wasn’t actually all that hard.

Bruce Wayne was a reclusive billionaire known to adopt kids faster than they could say ‘hi’. Batman was a reclusive billionaire known to take vigilantes under his wing just as quickly.

Dick Grayson-Wayne was an ex-acrobat who was determined to figure out if Marinette and Ladybug were the same person. Nightwing incorporated acrobat-like flexibility and technique in fighting and was determined to figure out if Marinette and Ladybug were the same person.

Jason Todd-Wayne was a sarcastic guy with gray morals and a tendency to joke about committing murder. Red Hood was a sarcastic guy with gray morals and a tendency to actually commit murder.

Timothy Drake-Wayne was a coffee-addicted workaholic that was smart enough to become CEO of a company at a young age. Red Robin was a coffee-addicted workaholic that was smart enough to figure out Batman and Robin’s identities at a young age.

Honestly, she felt like banging her head on a wall for not realizing it sooner. Sure, she’d suspected it, but she’d been so determined for ‘proper’ proof that she didn’t realize that there was some pretty good proof right in front of her.

Well, at least she’d figured it out at some point, she supposed.

~

She sent Jason a glare as she scooped some coffee pods into her bag. “I am fine.”

“But --.”

“I am fine.”

He huffed. “You’re still limping.”

“I. Am. Fine.”

He opened his mouth one last time but was cut off by Tim pushing past him to wrap her in a hug. “Beeeeaaaaan, please let me --.”

She rolled her eyes and didn’t bother to push him off, only detaching an arm so she could drink from her mug. “Not working a second time.”

He groaned and buried his face in her hair. She sighed and glanced at Jason. “Help.”

“Only if you promise to stay a bit longer,” he said without missing a beat, his lips curved into a Cheshire grin.

Marinette sent him a look before leaning into Tim. “You’re all allowed to come to my house at any point.”

“Yeah, but your house is boring,” complained Dick.

She threw a cup of coffee creamer at him and he dodged it without even sparing it a glance.

“It’s true, bean, it’s pretty empty in there.”

Marinette laughed quietly. “Fine. If you guys don’t like it then you’re not allowed back.”

Jason gasped and joined the hug. “How dare you?”

“Why do I get the feeling you’re trying to trap me here?”

“Whaaaaat? Us? No,” said Dick as he, too, walked over and wrapped his arms around her.

Marinette decided she’d give them a few minutes. She could still reach her coffee, and that’s all that really mattered.

At least, until she saw Damian in the hallway. Her shoulders tensed slightly at the sight of him. Ever since their agreement they’d come to a kind of truce. After all, if they really wanted they could spill the secret. Sure, there was an incentive to keep quiet, but if one of their tempers got the better of them...

“Help?” She tried.

He looked away and continued walking, leaving her to suffer.

She sighed and went to work prying arms off of her. There was a lot of whining, but none of them resisted.

Outside of Tim.

Dick broke into a grin and pulled Jason out, yelling that they were going to help pack her stuff over his shoulder. She didn’t believe that was quite it. For some reason.

“Tim,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Come back for Thanksgiving?” He asked.

She blinked. A little over a month beforehand he’d been desperate to keep her away from this place. She couldn’t help but smile a little. “Fine. I’ll stay for Thanksgiving. But only if you let go.”

“Fine.”

Marinette raised her eyebrows when he didn’t let go immediately.

“Um...?”

He smirked. “I said I’d let go, I never said when.”

She groaned and pushed him off. This time he let her. “You’re so annoying.”

“You love me.”

“Mmm,” she said, determined to not say yes or no.

He didn’t seem to notice, giving her a wide grin. “Right, ready to go?”

She smiled. “Yep!”


	34. Chapter 34

A week later, she was waiting for patrols to start for the night. Her leather jacket and boots had come in, but they would only be of use for another few nights at this rate. The purple had reached her shoulders and knees.

Good thing she’d come up with a plan! She’d gone to a Halloween store and bought the most realistic Ladybug outfit she could find. It was pretty good, the only difference was that it was far easier to damage, but she could work with that.

Now, though, as the sun began to set in a beautiful scene, she was given the bad news: she was going to be working with Robin until they got along.

She laid back on the edge of the building, letting one leg hang over the side lazily. She rested her hands on her stomach and pressed her ear against the concrete so she didn’t have to move.

“Seriously, Bats? I don’t want to work with him.”

“Too bad. You and him need to get along better so you can actually have each other’s backs if need be.”

She huffed. “It’s not like I’d let him die. Maybe get roughed up a bit but that’s not my problem.”

“That’s not the most heroic thing to say,” said Nightwing.

She scoffed. “Well, who asked you, Dick?”

The silence on the comms stretched and she realized her mistake. She laughed awkwardly as her brain scrambled for an excuse. At least his was the easiest name to play off as a coincidence: “Sorry, was there a no swearing rule? I didn’t know.”

She could almost feel their sighs of relief even if she didn’t actually hear or see them.

Bats cleared his throat. “Right, well, there is one. Anyways, this is non-negotiable. You’re working together. Stop complaining.”

She huffed and lifted her ear up a bit so she could curse him out without getting in trouble. Then she pushed herself up to a sitting position and closed her eyes as she waited for Robin to get there.

She rested her chin on her knee and hummed to herself.

A hand rested on her shoulder and she nearly fell over the side of the building. If they hadn’t been fast enough to catch her arm, she probably would have.

She sent Robin a glare. "You could be careful, you know,” she muttered as she got to her feet.

He crossed his arms. “Could be, yes. Just be glad I didn’t let you fall like I wanted to,” he said.

“Right, right. C’mon, we might as well get this over with.”

He rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly. “What do my brothers see in you?”

Marinette smiled cheekily. “You didn’t say that when you were drunk.”

His face reddened. “Because I was drunk, you can hardly count that against me!”

“Really? A lot of people say that you find out a person’s ‘true self’ when they’re drunk.”

“A lot of people are idiots,” he said with a hop to the next building.

She snickered and followed after him.

They jumped from rooftop to rooftop in relative silence. They both knew that arguing would only keep them distracted, they’d be more likely to miss something that was happening. As much as their presences annoyed each other, they still took their job seriously. They had to, this wasn’t something that they could allow to go wrong.

~

Their first fight together had... not gone well.

They’d won, sure, the criminals were in jail.

But...

She groaned as she pressed a soda can to the side of her head. It wasn’t going to help the bruising, but at least it felt a little better. “This is your fault,” she hissed.

He gave her an incredulous look before kneeling down to take a jar of honey off the shelf. “My fault? You’re the one who jumped in without going over a plan first!”

“Oh really? You thought you were going to think of a plan before Flamethrower-guy burned that family to a crisp?”

She plucked the honey from his hands and put it back.

He sent her a glare, only to raise his eyebrows as she grabbed his good arm. She pulled him through the store despite his protests.

She looked around for a while until she found petroleum jelly, bandaging, and a towel. She went to the bathroom and wet the towel.

He stared at her as she handed it over.

“It’ll help with the burns.”

He frowned and, with a small hiss of pain, wrapped the towel around his arm.

“Apply petroleum jelly a few times a day and make sure to always use sterile bandaging,” she said.

“You know a lot about this.”

She took a glance at all the people around them. They were still in costume, so it wasn’t a surprise that they were staring and taking pictures. She posed for a camera and then turned to answer him. “I have a lot of experiences with burns,” she said, which sounded a lot cooler than ‘I lived in a bakery’.

He gave a small laugh. They grabbed a bit of pain medication and went to the front.

He paid. Mostly because he was the only one who actually could get to their wallet in their costume, but also because he was rich.

“Thanks for the help,” he said awkwardly.

She sighed. “It’s whatever. C’mon. We still have a while for patrols.”

~

She raised her eyebrow at him as he pointed out a convenience store. She squinted to see better, but everything seemed fine. “Is there a robbery?”

He shook his head and hopped down from the roof. “Nope. Food!”

“No!” She hissed as she followed after him.

Apparently saying ‘no’ was not enough to deter him, because they’d ended up with two bags of chips and two coffees. She sent him a glare as she sipped at her drink.

“Whaaaat? I’m making sure we keep our energy up,” he said with a cheeky smile.

“How are you even skinny?”

“Says the scrawny baker’s daughter.”

She rolled her eyes and pulled a bag of chips from his hands. “You’re lucky any complaints I give to Bats would just be interpreted as us fighting again.”

“Yep.”

~

She’d unfortunately figured out the answer to a question she’d had. She touched a hand to the shallow cut on her stomach. She’d dodged the knife pretty well, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t painful. She could deal with the pain, the problem was...

The knife had cut through her costume like butter.

She zipped up her leather jacket and sent Robin a grin as he picked up the criminal for them.

“Are you alright?”

She blinked once. “What?”

“You zipped up your jacket. You wouldn’t do that unless you wanted to hide an injury, it’s too tacky for you.”

She scoffed but, after a while of him glaring at her, she reluctantly opened her jacket to show him the cut. It wasn’t bad, barely even bleeding. Still, he reached into his tool belt and handed over some bandages.

She tried to hand them back over but he’d threatened to knock her out and do it himself. So, however reluctantly, Marinette ended up taking care of herself. It was a miracle.

~

She hummed as she tied off the criminal under her foot. “You still choreograph your moves too much.”

Robin scoffed as he picked up his own, who was knocked out cold. “Shut up, you Nightwing wannabe.”

She threw a rock at him, only for him to laugh.

~

A grin tugged at her lips as he hopped over to her, holding up two hotdogs. “Best food in Gotham.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’ve eaten my pastries, haven’t you?”

He smirked and handed one over. “I have. Still the best food in Gotham.”

Marinette stuck her tongue out at him as she took it. “So mean,” she whined.

He shrugged. “Eat one and say I’m wrong.”

She bit down...

Okay. It was pretty good. Amazing, even. Didn’t mean she still couldn’t be bitter.

He laughed when she didn’t say anything and rested an arm around her shoulders. “Told you.”

She huffed.

“Your food is still a close second, though.”

She couldn’t help the smile that broke across her face. “I’ll teach you to make some. Your brothers didn’t do great but there might still be hope for you.”

He snickered. “I heard about that. How bad was it?”

She shuddered and didn’t say anything, which was a pretty good response in itself.

~

He stopped suddenly and held a hand out to stop her. She gave him an annoyed glance before following his gaze. A man was being mugged in the alley below them.

The two vigilantes locked eyes and she tipped her head to the side. An unspoken understanding passed between them and they nodded in unison.

She dropped down behind the mugger silently. She reached out and tapped him on the shoulder.

They whipped around and she gave him a brilliant smile, waving. “Hello, monsieur,” she chirped, her eyes finding their way to his gun hand. Their hand had fallen slightly in their surprise. Good.

He looked confused for a moment.

Then she socked him.

He stumbled back a step, his hands coming up to touch his definitely broken nose. She didn’t give him a chance, grabbing the gun in his hand and twisting until he had no choice but to let go.

She smirked when he did so. However, much to her surprise, he didn’t stop fighting to nurse his definitely aching arm. He threw a punch to her face and she jumped back.

The gun clattered to the floor between them.

The two eyed each other warily for a beat before making a mad grab for the weapon.

Their fingers fumbled over the gun for a second and she reeled back in slight shock as a punch blindsided her.

The mugger stood over her, a gun pointed at her chest.

Her breath caught in her throat. She shut her eyes tight, her hands coming up to cover her face. Not again no no no please no --!

Something wrapped around her wrist. A small jerking motion and a bit of pain and then...

Weightlessness.

A gunshot could be heard behind her. Then another two, further and further away.

She crashed into a body and they both went sprawling, cursing as they skid over the ground.

They both groaned in pain and she sighed as she pushed herself up to a sitting position, rubbing her head. Robin groaned and sat up a bit as well, his eyes unfocused.

“Did we win?”

She sighed. “Not yet. Thanks for the save. You got the civvie away right?”

He gave a nod. This could have been to confirm he understood they hadn’t yet won, acknowledging her thanks, or to say that he had in fact gotten the civilian to safety. She opened her mouth to ask --.

There was a click from above them and they looked up to see the man, who was pointing his gun between them.

The two vigilantes glanced at each other warily. They weren’t in much of a position to fight, dazed and on the ground like they were, and she couldn’t help the anxiety building in her chest the longer the gun was pointed at her.

She knew what Robin was going to do before he’d done it. Her hand came out to stop him, but she was too late.

He darted forward.

A gunshot rang out.

And then another.

And another.

Robin fell back to her side as her eyes found his. His mouth moved but she couldn’t hear it above the ringing in her ears. He reached out and gave her a little squeeze.

And then his arm went limp.

She swallowed thickly, her hand reached out and she gave his shoulder a little shake. “Robin?”

Nothing.

Marinette rounded on the criminal and pushed herself to her feet. He’d run out of shots, she knew it. That was six, he was out. Her hand went to her yoyo...

The man was beneath her, blood darkening what little scraps remained of his clothes. Her eyes found their way to the polka-dotted dagger in her hands and she felt bile build in her throat as she came to realize that most of the black polka-dots were coated in red.

She pushed herself off of the man quickly.

She’d never... why did this one affect her so badly? She’d seen her people massacred but she’d never... Even when Chat had died she’d still been able to keep mostly calm and win normally, so why...

She looked at her hands, which were still slick with blood.

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t...

Her eyes found their way to the lucky charm she’d summoned.

“Miraculous ladybug,” she whispered.

She didn’t even wait for the ladybugs to fully disappear before wrapping Robin in a hug. “Never do something like that again.”

He didn’t respond, only giving her a short squeeze before pushing her off and walking to the criminal.

The man was wheezing and clutching his chest. Of course he was. Even if Miraculous Ladybug could repair all the physical damage done during a fight...

No one ever forgot how they died.

He picked up her yoyo from where she’d dropped it and used it to tie up the criminal.

They carried them to the police station in silence.


	35. Chapter 35

She let Robin turn in the criminal for two different reasons. The main one was the fact that her suit was falling apart by the second and the only reason it hadn’t disappeared already was she was pouring her own energy into maintaining it. The other reason was that the sight of the man made her feel sick; she couldn’t look at him without remembering exactly what she’d done, how he’d looked, and how it made her feel in the moment.

She clenched her fists tightly, letting her nails dig into her gloves as she ducked into an alley.

She brought her hand to her ear.

“Me and Robin are leaving patrols for the night,” she said. Her voice was much harsher than she’d intended. Maybe that was why no one argued.

“Robin and I,” corrected Nightwing.

She took a deep breath, ready to curse him out despite the apparent rule against cursing, but Robin cut her off before she could say anything: “Not the time, Nightwing.”

“Definitely not. I’m behind the building, come find me.”

“What happ --,” began Red Hood, but she turned off her comm.

She let her costume drop.

Tikki fell from her earrings and Marinette had to dive across the concrete to catch her. Her elbows and knees were scratched and bleeding, but she couldn’t care as she examined the kwami.

Tikki wasn’t moving.

She felt tears well in the corners of her eyes and she forced them back. Robin would be there soon. She didn’t have the right to cry when he had just --.

A hand rested on her shoulder and she looked up to see him.

She sniffled and gently set Tikki in her bag. She pushed herself to her feet and took him by the arm, dragging him through the streets.

It was a bad idea to go out like this. No one knew who Marinette Dupain-Cheng was but, from the number of people snapping pictures of her, she would be pretty well-known by the end of the week. She found she couldn’t care less.

“What’re we doing?” He asked quietly.

“I’ll tell you when we get there,” she muttered, her grip tightening on his arm.

He didn’t respond, just allowed her to pull him along.

She got to her apartment and practically tossed him inside, slamming the door behind them.

Plagg was sitting on the bed and she rolled her eyes at his disapproving look. The kwami opened his mouth but she beat him to it: “Don’t. Not right now. Just get the ring.”

Robin eyed the god and Marinette as if he wasn’t yet sure which one he was supposed to be more wary of. She didn’t know if she wanted to take that as a compliment or an insult.

The kwami dropped the ring in her hand and it pulsed with power. A blinding green light emanated from the tiny ring, and both humans had to shield their eyes a little.

She forced it into Robin’s hand before it could mess with her. Having both the ladybug and cat miraculi on hand at the same time was known to corrupt even the most pleasant and mentally stable people. She already had committed a murder. Who knows what she would do.

He frowned as he toyed with the ring. As they watched, the white plastic ring morphed into what looked to be industrial steel.

Marinette smiled tensely. “Congrats, ‘Robin’, you’re now the owner of the cat miraculous.”

Robin tipped his head to the side as he considered it, then shook his head slightly. “I don’t want it.”

“Too bad,” she said. Oh, there was that harsh tone again.

He winced.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “What you did was absolutely stupid and reckless and, unfortunately, that seems to be the main two necessities for getting the cat miraculous.”

Robin raised his eyebrows and set the ring down. “Marinette, I know --.”

“Don’t ‘Marinette’ me! You were dead!”

“And why do you care? I thought you hated me!”

She groaned. “So did I, really. But apparently not! I never react like that! Apparently, I care about you, who knew?”

He frowned. “React like what?”

Right. He hadn’t been alive to see what she’d done. She swallowed thickly. “It doesn’t matter.”

He looked like he was going to protest, but she didn’t let him get a word in.

“What does matter is that you’re doing stupid things that are getting you dangerously hurt -- for no real reason, mind you -- and if you’re going to do that then I may as well make sure you’re protected.”

“It’s fine, your yoyo brings everything back to status quo at the end anyways --.”

“Not anymore it doesn’t!”

His eyes widened.

“I need an active cat to maintain balance, and since I’ve been using Tikki for a month now without one, I’m pretty weak. I wasn’t even sure if I could...” She sighed. “I didn’t know if I could do it this time, and now...”

She pulled Tikki from her bag and let him see the kwami, who was still completely immobile.

Plagg darted to the other kwami and took him from Marinette’s grip, sending his guardian a glare as he carried her to the fridge to try and force Tikki to eat.

“But you shouldn’t have been relying on my ability to fix it anyways. It only fixes physical damages, but mental and emotional ones can’t just be taken away.”

He scoffed. “Yeah, I figured that one out for myself, thanks.”

She winced. Not at what he’d said, but at how he’d said it. The slight tremble of his voice, the way his eyes finally looked away from hers for the first time that night, the clenching of his fists. She walked over and, hesitantly, wrapped him in a hug.

He tensed up. “Um...?”

“Just let me have this, please,” she mumbled.

Robin nodded slightly and rested his arms around her.

She concentrated on her breathing. She had a lot of experience dodging negative emotions from her years of fighting Hawkmoth in Paris, she knew strategies to keep them in check. Usually, this meant that all she had to do was distract herself. This would be fine.

Or, at least, it would have been if she hadn’t felt Robin bury his face in her hair.

A sob built in her throat as she tugged him closer. She blinked rapidly in an attempt to push her tears back. He was the one in trouble, he was the one who needed help, he...

Was crying.

Her own tears forced themselves to be known. She pressed her face into his chest, bunching up his costume in her hands.

She didn’t know how long they stayed like that; leaning into each other, sobbing over their shared experience, holding onto each other like their lives depended on it. But, eventually, she ran out of tears. Eventually, she felt him relax into her and begin to sleep.

Marinette gently detached herself and set him in her bed. She pressed a kiss to his forehead and went to drink some water. After a bit of considering it, she walked over and set some stuff out on the nightstand and wrote a note.

She sat down at the bedside, leaning against it and closing her eyes.

~

She opened her eyes to shifting behind her and looked over blearily.

Damian was crying silently, his hands covering his mouth to stifle the noise.

She hesitated, unsure if he’d want her help. Still, she reached up and rested her hand on his arm, giving him a gentle squeeze.

He stiffened slightly, then relaxed a bit. They sat there in silence for a while. Him crying, her staring off as she tried her hardest to push the events of the previous night from her mind.

“Marinette?” He whispered. “Are you awake?”

“No,” she mumbled sarcastically.

He gave a laugh, broken and sad as it was. “Right... I’m going to head home.”

“You sure? You don’t want me here to help?”

He rested his hand over hers and gave a gentle squeeze. “I have a dog. Besides, this is your bed.”

She didn’t bother to argue. She knew he was scrambling for an excuse to leave, and she wasn’t going to keep him. You can’t force someone to open up to others, it’ll only make them clam up more. So, she pushed herself to her feet and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“Okay. Give them a pet for me.”

He gave her a small smile before heading out.

~

Damian smiled awkwardly at her, waving.

The bags under his eyes were extremely prominent and she frowned at the sight of them. Marinette was used to getting only a few hours, but Damian (for the most part) seemed to find time to sleep.

“How’re you feeling?”

“A little better,” he murmured. “And you?”

She winced at the lie on her lips and forced her mouth closed before she could dismiss the question like she wanted to. He seemed to understand anyway.

He reached over and gave her arm a small squeeze.

She looked away. “Does your family...?”

“No, they don’t know. And they won’t. Ever.”

Marinette didn’t know whether this was a good thing. Despite how much she hated it, she knew they should be leaning on others after what had happened the previous night. Still, the idea of telling someone what she’d seen, what she’d done, so soon was enough to make her breath catch in her throat.

She nodded to say she understood and changed the subject: “So, did Plagg explain everything to you?”

"Yep.”

“And?”

He seemed hesitant. “I think I’ll try it. It’s coming time for a new Robin, anyways.”

She nodded and reached into her pocket and pulled out the ring. She’d wrapped it in layer after layer of fabric to make sure she wasn’t tempted, but now it was going to be hard to get it out.

After a bit of digging, Marinette handed over the ring.

He slipped it on his finger.

“Plagg, claws out.”

With a bright flash of light, he stood in front of her. She raised an eyebrow at the costume, which was exactly the same as his normal Robin one but this time in black.

“Creative.”

“Shut up,” he muttered, giving her shoulder a shove.

She grinned. “Right, I’m explaining everything to you myself, because Chat Noir had no clue the first day even when Plagg tried to help.”

She was going to get lectured about that when Plagg got out, but until then she smiled and tapped the wall of the building.

“This is an abandoned warehouse. I checked to make sure there wasn’t any kids or Rogues, it’s completely empty. Cataclysm it.”

He looked at her like she was insane.

She sighed. “Listen, you’re too powerful right now, especially for a newbie.” She motioned to his costume. “I couldn’t get details in my outfit for about a year, and yet yours is pretty much fully-formed.”

“I’m powerful, so what?”

“It’s not good. If you used cataclysm on something small who knows what would happen. I’d prefer to stop that disaster before it happened.”

He frowned slightly. “But, if that’s the case, shouldn’t we be teaching me to control my powers?”

“We can when you’ve gotten most of the extra stuff out. Right now we’re avoiding a disaster. Sound good?”

He hesitated, his eyes finding their way to the building. “Who does this belong to?”

“It’s completely abandoned, said to be haunted because a guy died there. Legal fees made it shut down, and the people who owned it have been trying to sell it since. If you really care we can reimburse them however much they offered, but really it’s whatever.”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “You’re acting different.”

“Shocker!”

He winced and looked away.

“Sorry. I’m trying, it’s just...” She clenched her fists. “Yesterday was a lot. Doesn’t mean I can take it out on people. Especially not you.”

He nodded softly and raised a hand. “Cataclysm.”

She stepped away from the building to make sure she’d be fine and he pressed his hand to it.

It was gone in seconds. There was no gradual rusting, no time for it to spread. It simply collapsed into dust.

She looked at Damian and smiled faintly at the sight of his costume. It was fading rapidly, until it was back to the suit Cat Noir had used originally.

“Good. Now, we should get you used to your weapon...”


	36. Chapter 36

Marinette tipped her head to the side, a phone pressed to her ear for an excuse to talk to them as she wandered through the streets. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Red Hood groaned. “C’mon, we know something happened! Just tell us!”

“The guy was put in Arkham, how is that our fault?” Complained Robin.

“Because he was claiming Ladybug killed him!”

Her grip tightened on the phone. “And yet he was alive. Maybe he belonged there,” she said. Her eyes flicked to a group of men in suits and she cringed. “Right, looks like my ride’s here.”

“Don’t avoid this!”

“Gotta go -- don’t touch me with that if you know what’s good for you -- bye!”

She ‘hung up’ and dropped the phone in her pocket, careful not to look away from what was probably a tranquilizer.

She put her hands up in surrender. “Guys, I thought we went over this last time. It’s fine, I’ll behave. You don’t need to stick me.”

“New orders.”

She tensed. New orders? Had the Rogues found her out? She didn’t think that she had done anything to tip them off, they shouldn’t have been able to, but this didn’t feel like their normal way of dealing with her.

But she couldn’t run. That was only more suspicious. And she had a sneaking suspicion there were people behind her to catch her if she did, if the prickling feeling under her skin was any indication.

This one wasn’t as strong as the first one, but that didn’t mean much. It didn’t make her pass out instantaneously, only made it extremely difficult for her to form coherent thoughts. Well, hopefully they weren’t going to be interrogating her. She didn’t know if she’d even be able to wake up enough to form words.

And then she saw his face and a scream slipped from her lips.

Paper-white skin was stretched grotesquely over the man’s face, leaving folds and flat planes where there definitely shouldn’t have been; at the edges the face was peeling off, only held on by a few staples. Cherry lips were pulled into a grin that was far too wide to be humanly possible.

She pulled her knees to her chest and curled inward on herself in the chair they’d put her in. Maybe if she did that enough she’d collapse in on herself and she wouldn’t have to look at him anymore.

A hand rested on her shoulder and she looked up to see Harley. The woman knelt down to be eye-level with her. “Don’t worry, darlin’, you’ll get used to it.”

She didn’t want to get used to it, but okay.

She hesitantly put her hand out to shake. “Nice to finally meet you, Joker.”

He took her hand and kissed it (or, at least, that was what she thought he was trying to do, in reality he just knocked his teeth against her skin). “And you, NightMare. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

She nodded slightly and waited for his grip to slacken on her hand to pull away.

The man seemed to consider her for a moment before pushing himself to stand at his full height.

She allowed herself to breathe again.

She looked around and frowned. The energy in the room was far more muted than usual. Most of the Rogues were almost hiding against the walls, backs pressed against them as if hoping that the building would swallow them whole. Even Penguin looked like he was trying his hardest to disappear, his knuckles white with how tightly he gripped his umbrella.

She looked up to see Harley and couldn’t help but cringe at the smitten look in her eyes. She was the only one in the center of the room with her and Joker, and she seemed to almost be reveling in the feeling. Marinette had heard of her ‘relationship’ with him and she wanted nothing more than to grab the woman and take her as far away as possible.

She settled for standing between them, smiling innocently as she hugged Harley around the middle. “I was beginning to think you forgot about me!”

The woman beamed and hugged back. “Of course not, darlin’!”

Her smile dropped as Joker handed her a gun.

“Euh?” She mumbled, knitting her eyebrows together as she took it.

“Harls just told me you haven’t had your debut yet!”

Her shoulders tensed slightly but she forced a smile. “I wanted to have some sort of big debut, wouldn’t want to ruin it when there are only three months left.”

Joker gave her a laugh and rested a hand on her shoulder. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. “Maybe, but I want to make sure you won’t flake out on us when the big day comes.”

“I won’t.”

“Then prove it.”

She swallowed thickly. Now all the Rogues were looking at her, watching her flounder for an excuse. She could see the doubt forming in their eyes the longer she went without answering. Damn. Her whole plan hinged on them trusting her, and they had yet to tell her what their plan was beyond the fact that the Wayne Gala was involved somehow.

She wondered if she should tell them she killed someone. It was a pretty good indicator of general badness. Problem was, she knew that the bats were listening intently to the conversation while they wandered on patrols. If she admitted to this, they’d question her, and eventually they’d find out that Robin had been killed. That wasn’t her secret to tell.

So her only real option was...

Marinette gave a little bow, her eyes trained on the floor. “As you wish.”

~

She opened a portal to just outside the convenience store and couldn’t help but cringe as she saw who was on duty. It was the clerk who had helped her get the right supplies when she’d been shot. Great. So now she had to traumatize a genuinely nice person.

Also herself, possibly, but she was going to try and avoid that if she could.

Her hand went to the gun Joker had given her. She wouldn’t have to kill anyone. It was a robbery. Those were common, people knew how to react. It shouldn’t go wrong.

She glanced back at where the Rogues were all smiling at her and giving her thumbs up. ‘Good luck’. Too bad she never had that.

She closed the portal and pulled out the gun and a burlap sack she could use to hold the money and food in (Harley had asked for skittles, Marinette intended to deliver).

She stepped inside and shot out the lights, which was met by screaming. She tried not to look at the mother shielding her kid, at the group of teenagers who were cowering in a corner, at the clerk who was anxiously opening the cash register.

She swallowed thickly, tears threatening to spill over as she walked past the mother and child to pick up a pack of skittles and dropped it in her bag.

“No one needs to get hurt. Everyone, drop your money in front of you and I’ll come to collect it.”

This was a good area. Hopefully, they could all afford the loss.

Everyone hastily pulled out their wallets and she raised her eyebrows as she shot the wall next to one of the teens. “No calling the police. Drop your phone, please.”

The oldest nodded and let their phone fall to the ground.

She walked over and leaned down to pick up the phone, only to hear shuffling above her. She looked up just in time to get punched in the nose.

A curse slipped from her lips and she stumbled back. It didn’t really hurt, the punch was pretty weak, but she found tears coming to her eyes anyways. Her back hit a shelf and she winced.

She gave a sigh and brought her gun up to point at them.

“Funny,” she said, giving a tense smile. Marinette raised an eyebrow as the teen advanced a step. “Do you have a death wish?”

The teen -- no, a closer examination showed she was a preteen at most -- glared at her and took another step forward.

She raised her eyebrows and moved her gun to point at one of her friends, and nodded to herself when the kid tensed.

“I won’t hurt any of you,” she promised.

The kid looked her in the eyes and Marinette found herself looking away, reaching down to pick up their phone and wallets. She cringed as she saw that the phone was still dialed for 911. She pressed it to her ear.

“Ha! Got you! Suckers!” She said.

“Prank calling the police is a crime, young lady.”

“Oh. Oops.” She hung up and dropped the phone again.

She had a strong suspicion that her ‘lol it was just a prank call’ thing hadn’t worked. She was going to have to move faster.

She walked around the store, scooping up wallet after wallet, until she reached the clerk.

Marinette took a glance back and then stuck out her sack. “Drop the money in, please.” She heard sirens in the distance. She could hope it was some other random thing going on, they were in Gotham and all, but she didn’t think she’d be that lucky. “Quickly.”

The man outright pulled out the tray and started dumping it into her bag, eyes wide with fear.

She nodded when he finished and removed her bag, tying a knot at the top.

A flash of movement.

She looked back up and the clerk beaned her with the metal tray. She hit the floor. Her gun hand came up to threaten them.

But there was no gun.

She made a strangled sound in the back of her throat as she looked around, finding it a few feet away. She moved towards it and another hit made lights dance in front of her eyes.

She barely dodged the next hit, rolling to the side and cringing. Now the gun was even further away. The clerk was standing between her and it.

Marinette backed up on the floor until her head hit the wall. She could take quite a few more hits than the average person, but that didn’t mean much if this guy was going to clobber her until she inevitably passed out.

He brought his hands up to hit her again and she opened a portal, watching him fall through it.

She closed it too soon.

There was a sickening sound as he was cut in half. Blood splattered her clothes as she watched both pieces fall to the ground.

Marinette wanted to stay. She wouldn’t have cared about giving herself away as Ladybug if it meant bringing this man back, but the sirens were getting closer and closer.

She dove across the floor for her gun. She stood up slowly, her eyes looking around. All their horrified expressions, the kids she had definitely scarred for life, and... his body, split in half with a look of surprise forever stuck on his face.

She opened a portal underneath her...

And tried not to think about the fact that the edges were coated in red.


	37. Chapter 37

There was silence as she stepped into the warehouse.

Of course there was. She was covered in blood, and it was pretty obvious from the splatter that it wasn’t her own.

She walked over to Joker, her posture stiff, her expression set in a grimace. She felt her grip tighten on the bag and gun.

She practically threw the stolen goods, probably would have if she’d felt strong enough to. Instead, she thrust it into his chest and turned on her heel to leave.

“Where are you going?” Asked Joker.

“Home. I have a day job and this is going to be a pain to get out,” she said, struggling to keep her voice even. Still, she stopped walking. He clearly was implying that she needed his permission to leave and, though she hated it, she desperately needed him to trust her so the Rogues would be able to. She supposed that she could stay for a bit longer. If he trusted her, then she would be allowed out to have some privacy. If he didn’t…

Well, she wouldn’t need to worry about having a breakdown.

“Is all this good enough, sir?”

“Let’s see, shall we?”

The man took his time as he rifled through the bag. She could feel his gaze on the back of her head, scrutinizing her, looking for... something. Whatever answer he got, he sighed.

There was a beat, then the sound of his shoes scraping the floor as he turned around to face the Rogues. “I don’t think she’s dangerous to us.”

There was a collective sigh of relief.

“But I don’t think that she’s cut out for the Wayne operation.”

There was a new silence.

Marinette felt tears threaten to spill over the corners of her eyes and bit the inside of her cheek. She finally turned back around to face everyone. “May I know why?”

“Well, if this is how you’re going to act after one little murder, then how are you going to kill anyone? How did you not catch this, Harls?”

Her eyes found their way to Harley, who looked like she’d been caught. She set down her Skittles and walked over to Marinette, wrapping her arms around her from behind. “Doesn’t matter if she can’t kill anyone, Puddin’. Her powers give us an easy in without alerting security.”

Joker nodded slowly. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned in so close to Marinette that the girl tried to sink into Harley’s embrace.

“Fine. You may go. I need time to think it over.”

She nodded quickly and pulled herself away. With a wave to the Rogues, she opened a portal to her apartment and dropped into her bathtub.

She changed the setting on her comm so she could hear everyone else.

“ -- lled someone!” Hissed Batman.

“Who cares? She can fix it, right?” Asked Red Hood.

Red Robin sighed. “Not without giving herself away as Ladybug she can’t. Anyone who’s done even a minute of research knows she has to be involved in the fight to use the Miraculous Ladybug thing.”

“So the options are to let Mr. Watson die or let the operation fail,” said Nightwing grimly.

“Good! Let it fail!” Yelled Red Hood. “She wasn’t doing well before this! Kid needs a break. She shouldn’t have to sacrifice her mental health for this!”

Robin sighed. “You heard Joker, they’re planning on killing at least one person at the Wayne Gala, probably more.”

“Then we think of a new plan! We have around a month and a half! More security!”

“This is selfish and you know it.”

“Hey, don’t you --!”

“Don’t you guys think I should get a say in this?” Marinette finally chimed in, her voice quiet.

No one said anything.

“I’d like…” Her lip trembled and she took a deep breath. “I’d like some time to think about it.”

After a moment’s pause, Red Robin spoke: “Of course. Would you like someone to go talk to you?”

She rested her head back against the tap. “No, I’m going to call over a friend.” Her eyes widened. “No offense or anything! I just wanted --.”

“It’s fine, kid, we understand. You have a long time before you need to make a decision, go ahead and take some time for yourself.”

She nodded. “Alright, see you on patrols tomorrow.”

She snickered as all the boys chimed in at once to tell her just how bad an idea that was.

“Kidding, guys.”

There was a collective sigh.

“Right, I’m heading out. Bye-bye!”

There was a chorus of ‘bye’s and she turned off her comm and detransformed.

Kaalki collapsed into her hands and Marinette whispered an apology, examining the kwami for damage. They weren’t hurt or anything, they just looked shell-shocked.

She set the kwami down on the edge of her sink and filled it with soap and water (to the horse’s preference, of course, Marinette wasn’t stupid). After a bit of searching, she found the cake she’d baked before she left. She set it down on the edge of the sink for Kaalki to eat when she was done ‘bathing’.

Marinette then went to clean herself. She used a mix of cold water and baking soda to get the blood from her clothes and then decided it was about time to get her actual body clean.

She scrubbed her skin as hard as she could. Maybe, somewhere, she understood that she wasn’t helping by rubbing her skin raw but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She felt so… unclean. A sob threatened to escape her throat and she cringed, only rubbing harder.

Red and suds slid down the drain, she only scrubbed. Maybe if she did it enough she could be rid of this body. Become someone new, fresh skin with a fresh start.

Eventually, with pink skin and red-rimmed eyes, she turned off the water and stepped out. She toweled herself off and pulled on some pajamas, then dropped onto her bed.

She knew that the blood was still in her apartment, knew that there was a trail from her tub to her counter and then back again, but she couldn’t bring herself to do anything.

She picked up her phone and scrolled through her messages. Tikki settled down on the pillow next to her. The kwami had been doing better since she and Robin had used Plagg, though she clearly wasn’t at 100% quite yet. A tiny hand rested on her cheek and Marinette gave her a tiny smile.

She didn’t know how she felt about Tikki being around and active again. On the one hand: Tikki was back! Her friend was alive and well! Tikki wasn’t suffering anymore! On the other hand: Tikki was back. And she was getting the little exasperated look she usually got whenever she was about to get a light scolding.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

The answer was no, but she knew what would happen if she said that. She’d get a tired ‘Marinette!’ and a stern look and she’d be forced to fess up anyways. She knew Tikki only wanted the best for Marinette, wanted her to be happy and healthy, but being the god of passion made it hard for her to express these feelings normally.

Not that Marinette could really say anything about that. There was a reason why she’d been paired with the goddess, after all.

She continued scrolling until she found the contact she was looking for.

“I’ll tell you in a minute,” she promised. “I don’t want to have to talk about it twice, though.”

Tikki looked disapproving but allowed her to do this.

Definitelyforgottosleep: help

She couldn’t help but be nervous when they read her text and didn’t say anything, right up until she heard a knock on her door.

She trudged over and the moment she opened it Chloe rushed inside, first aid box in hand. “What is it this time? Gunshot? Stabbing? Poison?”

Marinette blinked once, her brain scrambling to figure out what was going on, then a quiet laugh bubbled from her throat. She closed the door behind her, shaking her head. “No, no, I didn’t mean like that. I wanted to talk.”

Chloe seemed torn between being annoyed and relieved. “So you want free therapy?”

She looked away, her face reddening. She supposed that was kind of what she was asking for, though the idea of admitting to it was weird. The whole topic of mental health and therapy had been mostly taboo during and after the Hawkmoth situation because often reliving bad events would evoke negative emotions.

Marinette forced a laugh. “I mean, what would I even say to a therapist? Don’t tell anyone but I’m Ladybug and things are not going well?”

Tikki sighed. “Marinette…” Ah, there it is. A classic.

Chloe gave a small, tense smile. “You really should talk to someone.”

She opened her mouth.

“Someone besides us. A professional.”

Marinette closed her mouth.

While this was probably -- no, definitely -- true that professional help was needed, she didn’t know how she could even start. 'I killed a guy as revenge for him murdering my friend but I can’t prove this because they’re both actually alive right now so just trust me'? 'I bisected a person with a portal'? Sure, that would go over well. She’d either get thrown into an asylum or thrown into jail.

Instead of saying this, though, she gave a small shrug.

The three girls sat on the bed and Marinette chewed on the inside of her cheek as she stared at her hands. How does someone just start talking about the fact that they’ve committed two murders in three days?

But, eventually, the words came to her. She didn’t know when she started crying but, by the end, she was curled up with her head on Chloe’s lap as she struggled to explain how she’d killed the clerk through choked sobs.

The two were silent. Tikki nuzzled herself against her cheek comfortingly. Chloe ran her hands through her hair. But they weren’t saying anything.

Marinette closed her eyes tightly. Now that she was done reliving it, it felt a little better than it had been before. Sure, she was nowhere near healed, but she couldn’t help but lean into the touch of her friends. It was nice to talk about her emotions, to actually let herself feel them. To know there were people who supported her despite everything.

Chloe finally spoke up: “So, what do you want to do?”

Marinette looked up. “I was kinda looking for advice…”

“Marinette… this isn’t something we can decide for you. Your mental health is important, but so are other people’s lives. Since we aren’t giving up either, we don’t really have a say,” explained Tikki gently.

“We have what we would do if we were in your situation --.”

“So tell me that!”

Chloe rolled her eyes and continued: “-- but, really, that’s for our own lives with our own morals. This is a question about your life and your morals. We can’t help you.”

She let her eyes fall back to her sheets.

Her decision, huh?

Red Hood had, shockingly, had a point. It wasn’t fair to ask her to give up her own mental wellness for others. Even if she was doing it willingly, she was still giving up a huge part of herself. While in a bad state, mind you, which could impair her judgment.

Still, if she went from a strict numbers point of view, it was one person’s wellness versus the wellness of at least one other person (but likely far more than one). No matter what, at least one person was going to end up suffering. Shouldn’t she just go with the option where there was a guarantee on only one person rather than a chance at hundreds getting hurt?

She knew what ‘Ladybug’ would do… but what about Marinette?

Her mind wandered to the clerk she’d bisected earlier that day. To that look of surprise and fear that would forever be etched on his face. She grit her teeth.

She couldn’t let that happen to anyone else.


	38. Chapter 38

She woke up with a groan and rubbed her eyes. Someone, probably Chloe, had tucked her into bed. She smiled faintly and sat up.

A glance at her phone found a text from Chloe saying she’d gotten home safely, a text from Jason asking if she was okay (really subtle), and a text from Damian asking if she wanted to talk.

She closed her eyes, letting her phone drop to her side. She didn’t really want to talk about anything, she’d already cried herself out of tears the night before and she didn’t intend on doing that again anytime soon.

She glanced at her work. She kinda needed to get a move on, the Wayne Gala was steadily approaching, but she didn’t really have any motivation to do that. She didn’t feel like being productive at all, actually.

What she wanted, really, was a distraction. She mulled over her options. Most of her hobbies also felt like work, from designing to baking, so… what could she do?

Oh!

She pulled up a chat.

Definitelyforgottosleep: wanna hang out today

She barely had to wait for an answer.

Coffeeismygirlfriend: Sure! I’ll be there soon.

She got up and went to the bathroom to get ready, only to see the dried blood on her floor. She bit her cheek and then walked to the door. She glanced back in it’s direction and smiled when she realized her counter covered it. Good. She could deal with that later, then. She didn’t feel like cleaning.

Marinette smiled as she opened the door an hour later, fully ready.

Tim smiled. “Hey! Ready to do some work?”

She grinned and rushed past him, hooking her arm with his. “Nope!”

He blinked confusedly as he allowed her to drag him along. “Uhhhh this wasn’t expected.”

“I can see that. You work too much anyways.”

Tim groaned. “Not you, too! I thought you understood!”

“Not saying it’s a bad thing, but I don’t want to do work today.”

He looked at her like she was insane.

She grinned and pulled him into an arcade that she’d seen a few times on patrol. “Behold! I’m gonna teach you how to have fun!”

He raised his eyebrows slightly. “I know how to have fun.”

“Mmm,” she said, not agreeing or disagreeing.

They both pulled out their wallets and then eyed each other warily. Marinette crossed her arms over her chest.

“I’m the one who wanted to come.”

“I’m the one with more money.”

She rolled her eyes and, however reluctantly, put her money away. He had a point. He probably wouldn’t even register the loss.

He smiled like he’d won something and handed over his credit card. “Uhhhh just as many points as you can give us, I guess?”

The clerk looked exhausted as she nodded, handing over the plastic cards.

And, with that, they were off.

She was better at most of the straight video games. He complained about difficult controls, but she was pretty sure he just wasn’t used to playing on consoles. It made sense, he didn’t really seem the type to play video games in his off time (if he even had any offtime, of course).

Still, he gave her a pout every time he lost. “You’re cheating.”

“Yeah. I’m cheating on this game that I’ve literally never played before in my life. You’ve caught me.”

He huffed. “We’re playing something else.”

Then they moved onto games based on sports. Were they maybe a bit too good at these types of games? A bit too quick? Yes. But neither of them intended on saying anything because 'oh cool tickets'. Still, it became obvious they had different skill sets: Tim had her beat at basketball and Marinette never lost at skeeball. They never learned who was better at air hockey because one of their hits sent the puck flying into someone’s head and they had to run away before they got sued.

Next was games of luck…

She got the lowest possible amount of tickets. Five times in a row.

Marinette kicked the machine and then cursed at the pain. “THIS IS STUPID.”

Tim, however, was trying his hardest not to laugh. “This shouldn’t even be possible.”

“Helpful,” she muttered.

He gave a small shrug as he stepped up to the machine. “Maybe it’s just rigged or something,” he said. She would have been inclined to agree... if he didn’t get a jackpot on his first try.

She huffed at his smug grin. “Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“I could feel you judging me,” she muttered, giving his shoulder a small shove.

He grinned. “I’d never.”

She rolled her eyes. “New type of game!”

After a bit they managed to find some co-op games, and she was delighted to find that the two of them together made for a pretty formidable team. Admittedly, some of the games weren’t technically supposed to be played as co-op, but who was going to stop them from getting as many tickets as possible from this fishing game by working together? Really it was the designer’s fault for not taking that into consideration.

They ran out of credits about every hour, but did they care? Not really. Mostly because Tim never told her when this happened, usually waiting until she was distracted with a game to go recharge their cards. Did Marinette notice the fact that their cards were seemingly never ending or that sometimes they would randomly have a lot more credits? Maybe, but she was enjoying herself enough to avoid the guilt at least temporarily.

Eventually, though, the arcade was coming to a close.

They had bags upon bags of tickets hanging off their arms, but this would become their downfall. Despite being smart enough to find ways to get the most tickets at every game, they apparently weren’t smart enough to think ahead and were now struggling to untangle the tickets.

“How did you even do this, bean?”

She knocked her head against the machine she’d been leaning on. “Less talking, more untangling,” she muttered irritably, struggling with a ticket that somehow had gotten a knot in it.

They ignored the workers’ glares as they finally managed to hand over the little slip with their ticket count on it. Despite how much they’d gotten, they were forced to go to the cheapest section.

She pouted. “Man, we were cheated.”

“We could just buy the stuff, it’s a lot cheaper that way.”

She turned her gaze on him, an incredulous look on her face. “Of course not! Where’s the fun in that?”

“You would actually get what you wanted…?”

She huffed. “Boring.”

“You just said you felt cheated.”

“That’s part of the experience, Timothy.”

He rolled his eyes and they split off in search of what they could afford. Her eyes landed on the vigilante merch and a smile came to her face as she got a plan. She quickly rang herself up and headed to the bathroom to change.

She grinned at him as she stepped out in a Red Robin themed hoodie, clutching a plush version of the vigilante to her chest. 

Because what’s the point of knowing your friends’ secret identities if you can’t mess with them?

He blushed, his grip tightening on the bag of prizes in his hand.

Marinette tried not to laugh as she looped her arm with his again, pulling him out into the streets. She really didn’t know where they were going, but she didn’t want to just leave when he was looking so flustered. What a wasted opportunity!

“So, Red Robin fan?” He asked after a bit.

She smiled. “Of course! He’s super smart! I mean, I know Batman is supposed to be the greatest detective of all time or whatever but, considering ages and experience, I think that Red Robin is probably going to have him beat in… I don’t know, a few years?”

Poor Tim looked like he was about to pass out, his face was so red.

She smiled and sat down with him on a park bench. People were thinning around them as night approached, but she didn’t care. What was going to happen? They get attacked? That would only really be a bad time for the criminal.

“But I’ve actually met the guy a few times. He’s really nice and genuinely cares about his job from what I’ve seen. Don’t think there’s anything bad to say about him, honestly.”

He grinned, resting an arm around her shoulders.

“He’s alright, I guess.” An odd light sparkled in his eyes and he reached into his bag. He shuffled through his things for a bit and then held up a mug…

There was a picture of Ladybug on it.

“I think she’s cooler, though.”

Marinette fought the urge to bury her face in his shoulder as a blush came to her face. Ah. So this has backfired on her, apparently. All she could manage was a quiet: “Oh?”

“Yep! I think it’s really cool that she came over from Paris, because she really didn’t have to do that. No one would have said anything if she’d disappeared when Hawkmoth was defeated, but instead she decided to help Gotham!”

They were alone, now. This was great, because she didn’t need anyone else seeing her looking like a tomato. She fiddled with the Red Robin plushie in her lap for an excuse to look away.

A hand rested on her cheek and she looked up to see him. He was still a little flushed from her own compliments, but now there was a small grin playing at his lips. “Everything alright, bean? You look a little bit flushed, are you coming down with something?”

She opened her mouth to give an excuse before something struck her. Tim wasn’t stupid, she hadn’t been lying when she had said so. He couldn’t genuinely be wondering if she was sick, the smug look on his face made that obvious. So the only reason he’d be acting like this was if he was teasing her, which meant…

“You know?”

His eyes widened slightly and then flicked to the side. His hand lowered. “And I’m guessing you do, too?”

She nodded almost imperceptibly, closing her eyes. “What gave me away?”

“I was kinda suspicious during the food fight, you were a bit too good at it for a normal civvie, but I really figured it out because of the fox necklace. The one time she wears it is the one time I’ve seen you ever have it? It was just too much of a coincidence.”

She swore in French. She’d forgotten about that! She was going to start wearing the fox miraculous casually to alleviate suspicion, but Red Robin hadn’t come by much after that and she hadn’t been completely sure it was Tim.

“And how’d you figure me out?”

She hesitated. “It was obvious, honestly.”

“Damian?”

She blinked. “What? How’d you know?”

“You wouldn’t lie to protect anyone else.”

Fair enough. “Damian and I sparred, I recognized his fight style.”

He nodded and pulled her into his side a bit more.

She leaned into his touch a little bit, slinging an arm over his stomach lazily. “What do you think I should do?” She mumbled.

He didn’t bother to ask what she was talking about. “Honestly? I don’t like you going out into the field again. You’re not well…”

“But?”

“But the Rogues are unstable and I don’t like the idea of trying to fight them all off without any knowledge of what they were going to do.”

She nodded slightly. That made sense. “That’s about what I figured, too.”

“I don’t like you going out into the field again. You’re not well,” he repeated, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “The rest of them are probably going to be even more against the idea than me.”

“I’ll convince them.”

“Can you?”

Her head shot up to look at him and she bit at the inside of her cheek. He had a point, unfortunately. Jason was going to be against it, Bruce would probably be cautious of her because of his whole anti-murder thing, Dick would probably lean towards not letting her out again as well. She thought she might be able to convince Damian, but then again he was the only one who knew the full extent of what had happened over the past week.

She sighed and leaned into him again, closing her eyes. She buried her face in his shoulder. “Can you help?”

“Maybe,” he said softly, and she knew immediately that whatever he was going to say she wasn’t going to like it. “If you go to therapy regularly they’d probably be more okay with it.”

She cringed. There was that suggestion again: therapy. It was almost like she needed it or something. Still, she felt her normal excuse fall off her tongue: “What, am I supposed to tell them who I am?”

“Yep.”

She frowned.

“All of us have a regular therapist who sees us in costume and we talk about the job.”

“Will she tell Bruce everything I say?”

“Nope! She only has to tell him if we’re going to hurt ourselves or others.” He gave a short chuckle. “More than necessary, I mean.”

Marinette sighed. “But…”

Man, she was really running out of excuses now.

“It’s really the only way they’ll agree, bean.”

He was right, she just didn’t like it. She didn’t agree out loud, that would only make it feel more real. Instead, she curled into his side.

“We should probably head back to my apartment at some point. It’s going to get cold soon.”

“Yeah, probably,” he agreed quietly.

They didn’t move from where they were for a long time, content to lean into each other for warmth.

And, when they woke up the next morning, they decided to pretend they didn’t notice the giant sign over their necks that declared them under Rogue protection.


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first ever fanart: https://64.media.tumblr.com/f6499e1ee2a58f34e2a352acdd3e7423/02bbee258eb86cda-1a/s640x960/94e93d7367caa1a6833b5a5e56482aa5aae1c7a9.jpg by onlyabatfan on tumblr!!

Listen, Marinette knew just about nothing when it comes to Thanksgiving. France doesn’t have the holiday, and she barely even knew what it was beyond the little bit of research she’d done.

But, even with her limited knowledge about the holiday, she was pretty sure they were doing something wrong.

Still…

She grinned to herself as everyone cursed each other out, hands waving wildly as they argued over each other. She melted into the background as she watched the bat family argue, drink in hand.

But how did they get to that point, you ask?

She arrived on Sunday because Tim had told her that Thanksgiving was a week-long event in the Wayne Household.

She’d thought she’d met everyone because there were already four kids, Bruce would have been insane to get more in such a short period of time. But, apparently, the man really was a serial adopter.

How’d she find this out? She walked inside and, as she raised a hand to wave at Dick, something tapped her on the shoulder. She whipped around, stunned someone had managed to sneak up on her, then blinked at the unfamiliar face.

“Hi,” she squeaked.

The girl in front of her smiled widely, her head tipping to the side. “Are you a vigilante?”

Marinette went pale. What the hell? Her eyes flicked to Dick, who looked like Christmas had come early.

Thankfully, Jason came to her rescue… even if that was by tackling Marinette in a hug. She groaned as they stumbled back a few steps.

“Nice to see you, too, Jay,” she strained. “Now get off.”

He huffed and pulled away.

“Cass thinks that Mari could be a vigilante,” said Dick with a cheeky look on his face.

Jason and Marinette tensed slightly and looked at each other.

Then, Cass gave a short laugh. “No, wait, I was wrong. Don’t worry about it, Dick.”

The oldest’s smile dropped instantly and he groaned. “Dang…”

Jason was looking at Cass curiously, but then he pulled a grin to his face. “Right, Mari, this is Cass. Cass, this is Mari.”

The two girls scrutinized each other for a few seconds before Marinette started beaming. “Oh, cool, I’m glad I wasn’t just the diversity adoptee, then,” she joked quietly.

“Nope!” Came a new voice and she looked up to see a guy leaning over a railing. “Or, I guess all three of us would have to be diversity adoptees,” he added.

She blinked and looked up at him, then waved. “How many of you guys are there? And why am I just learning about you now?”

She had sent the last part of the question to Jason and Dick, who both looked sheepish.

“A lot. There’s some missing, actually. And as for why you didn’t know us…” Duke began, hopping down to them and holding a hand out to shake. “We’re the smart ones. We got an apartment downtown so we don’t have to be around them all the time.”

Marinette gasped. “That’s allowed?” She shook his hand eagerly. “I’m moving in next week.”

Cass nodded grimly. “It’s a plan.”

The three ignored Jason and Dick’s complaints following them down the hall as they went off to definitely not talk about how stupid the (official) Wayne boys can be.

~

But this wasn’t the problem. The problem came the next day, when Tim suddenly collapsed at the breakfast table, his head hitting the wood hard enough to rattle their plates.

Marinette blinked and reached out to shake him awake, a frown on her face, only to realize that she, too, was far more tired than she should be. She narrowed her eyes slightly in suspicion, eyeing the coffee mug beside her.

Then she rested a hand over her heart.

It was beating normally…

No. Way.

She pushed herself to her feet despite her exhaustion.

“ALRIGHT WHICH ONE OF YOU DECAFFED THE COFFEE?!”

The hall went silent. Except for Tim, who had managed to wake himself up. “Hm?” He murmured, sitting up and rubbing his forehead where he’d hit it on the table.

“Our coffee is decaf.”

That got him awake. He did the same quick check of his heart rate and then got to his feet as well. “WHO DID THIS?!”

“I KNOW RIGHT?!” Marinette took a deep breath to steel herself and then turned her gaze on everyone’s faces. No one was giving anything away. “Right. Whoever it was, fess up now and I promise we won’t do anything.”

“You promise you won’t do anything,” Tim muttered.

She stepped on his foot. He was not going to ruin this for them.

There was a silence as the family eyed each other suspiciously.

After a bit, Duke raised his hand. “I did. Thought it would be good for you two.”

Marinette glanced at Tim to see if this was something he would do, because she had, ultimately, had only one conversation with him.

Tim sighed. “Cute, but no you didn’t. You’re not stupid enough to.”

Duke rolled his eyes and sunk back in his chair.

The hall was silent and the addicts gave each other a small nod.

Marinette spun on her heel and grabbed Tim by the arm.

“Where are you going?” Yelled Dick after them.

“You’ll see!”

~

They realized what she’d meant when Jason screamed.

Every single one of the vigilantes ran to his room to make sure he was alive, only to find it looking like a hurricane had hit. Jason stood at a chest at the foot of his bed, and as they watched he threw an old hubcap over his shoulder.

“WHERE THE HELL ARE MY GUNS?”

Marinette and Tim tried their hardest not to smile.

“MARI. TIM. TELL ME OR I SWEAR ILL --.”

“There are some guns over there,” Marinette said sweetly, pointing to the top shelf of Jason’s closet.

He sent her a glare as he went over. “At least you fessed up…” He muttered, pulling down a cute box with the words ‘Definitely not Jason’s guns :D’ scrawled across the front. He opened it with a relieved look on his face, only for that expression to drop instantly.

He pulled out a set of water guns.

“WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?” He yelled, his eyes shooting back to the group at the door...

Only to find Tim and Marinette had disappeared.

~

Marinette scoffed. “This isn’t going to work,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Trust me,” Tim said, smiling.

“Hard to trust the guy holding a giant balloon to his lips.”

Tim rolled his eyes and walked to the door of Dick’s room and inhaled the air in the balloon.

“Dick?” He called through the door, his voice a perfect imitation of Bruce’s.

Ah, the wonders of sulfur hexafluoride.

“Yes, dad?” Yelled Dick.

Marinette and Tim grinned at each other. Then, he schooled his face into a calm expression and inhaled again.

“Don’t you think you’re forgetting something?”

There was a short silence. And then…

“Maybe? What did I forget?”

They didn’t answer.

“Dad? What did I forget?” He asked, sounding more panicked.

They remained silent, quickly ducking into the room across the hall before Dick threw the door open.

“DAD?”

~

Damian burst into the room.

Marinette looked up from where she was cooking with Tim (... in the same vicinity, she would never let him near food again). “Hey, Dami, what’s up?”

“Have you two seen Jerry?”

The two looked at each other and then at the oven.

Marinette rubbed the back of her neck. “Jerry? The turkey?”

“Yes. Have you seen him?” Said Damian, who was getting more and more impatient.

Tim coughed awkwardly. “Uhhhh…”

“Wait, what’re you cooking?”

The two looked at each other. “UHHHHH…”

Damian’s eyes widened and he ran out the door, yelling one name over and over again: “RICHARD!”

When he’d managed to drag Dick into the kitchen, they found Jerry the turkey safe and sound on the counter.

On top of the stove, they saw instructions for when to get the turkey in the oven out for it to be good.

But what they couldn’t seem to catch sight of were Tim and Marinette.

~

Retaliation was inevitable.

Didn’t mean they didn’t hate it.

Marinette ran into the living room where everyone was and glared them all down. They all gave her innocent looks.

She wasn’t buying it.

“What’s wrong?” Asked Jason, smiling as he looked up from his book.

Tim burst into the room, a crazed look in his eyes. “WHERE IS MY LAPTOP?!”

“AND WHILE YOU'RE AT IT TELL ME WHERE MY FABRICS AND SKETCHBOOK ARE!”

Dick smiled placatingly. “Now, guys, Thanksgiving is supposed to be about family --.”

“CAN IT SANTAYANA! WHERE IS MY WORK?!”

All anyone could do was shrug.

The family sent each other glares. It was clear by now: this was war.

~

The next day, Marinette found her hand literally glued to the coffee pot. She attempted to pry it off, only to realize that maybe this was a good thing.

She smiled at the excuse to take her drink around with her…

Right up until she realized Tim was now practically hanging off of her in order to get his fix.

The two were near murdering each other by the end of the day, their alliance on a string. The only thing holding it together was how it was five on two.

~

Bruce walked into breakfast, his clothes an atrocious shade of pink.

All of the kids looked at each other like they were trying to confirm that, yes, this was happening and they weren’t in fact losing their minds.

“Who. Did. This?” Asked Bruce, his eyes flickering over all their faces.

Every finger pointed at Marinette, who cursed mentally. Sure, they were all fighting. And sure, she was probably the only one who knew how to do it. And sure, he was one of her targets...

What was her point again?

Oh, right: traitors!

She smiled nonetheless. What was he going to do? Ground her? She could just leave, really. He couldn’t retaliate in any meaningful way.

Bruce strode over and… rested a hand on her shoulder, sending his kids a glare. “Honestly, though, who did it?”

Huh?

“Did you really think I’d believe it was her? Come on, kids, she’s an angel.”

Marinette realized what was going on and a laugh slipped from her lips, and she quickly covered it with a cough.

“But, dad, she really did --!” Tried Jason.

“Stop trying to blame your sister! She’s too nice to do this!”

He’d better stop! She was going to break a rib.

The boys seemed to realize that one of them was getting in trouble. Jason and Damian pointed at Tim. Tim pointed at Damian. Dick pointed at himself.

With a majority vote, Tim was dragged out by his father, but not before he caught her eyes and mouthed the words ‘I’m getting you back for this.’

She smiled and blew him a kiss, waving him off.

After a few minutes, when she was sure Bruce was out of earshot, she finally burst into laughter. “What… what just happened?” She choked out.

Duke clapped her on the back. “Welcome to the ‘can get away with anything’ club. It’s great.”

Cass nodded and flashed a thumbs up.

~

It was officially a free-for-all.

She walked out in Cass’s clothes and glared at Tim. Sure, it wasn’t nearly as rude as any of the stuff they’d done to mess with his family, but it was the principle of the thing.

Cass walked out in Marinette’s clothes.

They locked eyes and seemed to come to an agreement.

~

She walked out into the foyer to find Tim hanging upside down from the ceiling by one ankle.

“Bean?”

She looked up and smiled. “Yes, sweetie?”

His face reddened slightly. Or, maybe, the blood was rushing to his head. Who knows.

“Help?”

She grinned as she watched him struggle to keep his shirt from falling, leaning against the railing. She pulled out her phone and snapped a picture. “Nice one, Cass,” she called, then ducked out the door.

His curses followed her as she sprinted to the other side of the house.

~

By Thanksgiving day, pranks had from a few times a day to once an hour.

Dick was still dripping paint from the one time he’d walked into his room and gotten nailed by a paint bucket.

Damian and Tim were attempting to break the handcuffs binding them together with everything from katanas to guns.

Marinette’s skin was still tinged red in places from when the cranberry sauce had exploded on her.

Jason was tearing at his straitjacket with his teeth.

Bruce was wearing a Superman onesie because everything else in his size was missing.

Cass was attempting to untie the Gordian knot that was her shoelaces.

And Duke was completely fine, watching the chaos from above. After all, as Tim had said, he was far too smart to get involved in their shenanigans.

~

But, finally, Thanksgiving dinner was over.

Marinette smiled as she finally set down her fork.

Duke rested his head on his hand. “Hey, Mari, who’s your favorite bat?”

She blinked once and felt everyone’s eyes turn on her. Despite how everyone was very much annoyed with her, they seemed very interested in her answer.

Still, she couldn’t very much avoid answering unless she wanted to make it obvious she knew who they all were. So, she rested her head in her hand.

She glanced around at everyone’s expectant faces.

Well, she was leaving soon anyway.

She schooled her face into a mask of boredom. “If I had to choose, I guess Robin.”

She suppressed a snicker at the instant uproar that this caused. Even though Damian and Tim knew she knew their identities and therefore could probably guess that she was only messing with them, this didn’t keep Damian from puffing his chest a little or Tim from deflating. Jason, as her mentor, looked outright offended.

Dick held up a hand. “Wait, obviously you mean the original Robin, right?”

“Nah, he was a showoff. Current Robin all the way.”

Now Dick looked offended, too.

She grinned to herself as everyone argued over each other, attempting to convince her that they were in fact the best bat. Marinette sunk into the shadows.

She smiled as Cass joined her in the corner, watching the chaos unfold.

Cass grinned. “You could have just been honest and said Tim, you know.”

Marinette blinked once. She looked the girl next to her up and down and then decided she trusted her. It wasn’t like not trusting her was going to somehow fix the fact that she’d somehow figured out everything about her in seconds.

“Yeah, but that would be less fun.”

She snickered and nodded. “You should probably run.”

Marinette was about to ask why when a plate of mashed potatoes crashed into the wall between them. She broke into a wide grin.

“No, I think I’ll stay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aka Duke creates chaos without consequences for 2.5k words because everyone agrees that "he wouldn't be stupid enough to do that"


	40. Chapter 40

Marinette didn’t know when exactly she ended up living at Wayne Manor full time, all that she knew was that it happened. Eventually, staying over to work with Tim, to spar with Damian, to talk to Jason and Dick, morphed into her never really going home. After all, it was always too late, or the bed was too soft to get up, or there was a dog asleep in her lap how dare you suggest she move.

But her routine didn’t change much at all. Their coffee was returned to them, so Tim and Marinette spent basically all day binge-drinking and working (with mandated breaks enforced by Jason and Dick). At night, well…

“Another boys night?” She said innocently, barely even looking up from what must have been the millionth flower she had embroidered.

Jason shrugged. “Sorry, Mari, you just wouldn’t want to come.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. Honestly, how had boys night been the best thing they could come up with? They’d been doing this for years. How did they even have secret identities at this point? Still, she nodded and smiled. “Sounds great. Have fun.”

“Try and get some sleep!” Called Dick over his shoulder.

“I won’t!” She yelled back, then went back to work. After a few minutes, she stood up and brushed herself off. “Tikki, spots on.”

She grinned when she saw her outfit was finally back to normal. She’d kept the leather jacket, boots, and fighting gloves to hide the fact that she’d been weakened before, but now she’d added some tiny features to complete the look. Long, red ribbons tied her hair into her trademark ponytails, and she’d given herself a utility belt to match the rest of the family (also to hold snacks).

She hopped out the window and then made a large loop around the city to get to her and Damian’s meeting spot.

She rolled her eyes when she saw him. “Man, why’d you have to go for the utility belt first? I owe Bats one hour of sleep,” she whined.

He huffed softly. “Shut up! It’s small and easy to manage!”

She shook her head exasperatedly and pulled a bag of chips from one of her many pockets. “Mhmm.”

“You can’t judge me! You’re the one with streamers following behind you! That’s terrible for battle!”

“But great for aesthetic,” she said, grinning. “But you’re actually wrong. Pull on one.”

He gave her an incredulous look but did reach out to pull on one of the four trails of ribbon. It crumbled in his hand and, after a few moments, began to regenerate itself. “Uh….”

“Yep! It’s essentially streamers but even easier to break. I’m better at fashion than you, Kit.”

He sent her a glare. “Whatever. Let’s get on with patrols.”

‘Patrols’ was quickly derailed when they found a cute stray cat and started chasing it. Bruce would probably let Marinette have a pet if she asked, and it was so cute. She was about two seconds away from catching it when her receiver sprung to life.

She pouted and skid to a stop, bring a hand up to turn it on.

“Ladybug, you should come see this,” said Red Hood.

“Fine, location?”

He gave it to her and she turned off her comm.

“I have to go. Catch him for me?”

“Only if you agree to call him BatCat.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll agree to consider it.”

Damian grinned at her and disappeared in search of the cat.

After a bit, she managed to find her way to where Red Hood sat on a rooftop. “Hey,” she said casually, dropping down next to him.

“Mari,” he greeted, reaching out to poke her cheek.

“So, is there actually something or did you just want to see me?” She teased, smiling.

He didn’t smile back, nodding to a billboard nearby.

Her eyes found their way to it and she cringed. It had been completely defaced, an uneven coating of black spray-paint making whatever it was originally advertising worthless, the words ‘Come home NightMare <3’ were displayed proudly across it in an acidic green.

She balled her fists. She didn’t want to go back yet, but the Wayne Gala was only a week and a half away at this point. They’d obviously need her there to go over the plan.

The therapy sessions were helping, but the idea of getting back in that suit again… even seeing Kaalki made her feel a little sick to her stomach.

She steeled herself. “Right, I’ll go tomorrow.”

“You don’t have to, y’know.”

She bit the inside of her cheek. Technically, he was right. She could technically just opt not to go and they could hope that the security the Waynes had put in place would be enough. But, on a far more real level, he couldn’t be more wrong. She knew that they were getting in no matter how many people they had to fight against them because, ultimately, Batman wouldn’t have them killed and the Rogues had no such reservations.

Marinette pressed a kiss to his cheek. “It’ll be okay.”

~

She sat on the billboard, swinging her legs back and forth as she rested her head back against the paint. This was fine, she told herself. She wasn’t going to be killing anyone anymore. All the Rogues knew she wouldn’t if the fact that they’d allowed her to disappear for weeks was any indication.

She wasn’t supposed to kill anyone last time, a pessimistic voice said.

She was glad to see the familiar uniforms below and hopped down, waving at them. “Hey, boys, been a while!”

They didn’t return her smile. She felt a needle prick her neck and the next thing she knew she was in a warehouse.

Harley leaned into view, her blue eyes scrutinizing her. “Hey, darlin’, how you feeling?”

“Could be better,” Marinette mumbled.

She felt Harley and Ivy pull her into a hug and numbly returned it, closing her eyes. It only lasted for a few seconds, though, before Harley was quite literally pulled away. Poison Ivy quickly scampered off into the corner.

She looked up to see Joker and cringed internally. She’d been hoping to never see him again, but she supposed she never had been lucky.

“Hello,” she said carefully, giving a weak grin.

“Hi!” He said, giving a wave and of course he was the one to return her smile. “We have some work to do.”

Marinette bit the inside of her cheek. “We?”

“Yup! Us three are going to Wayne Manor!”

She frowned confusedly and glanced around at everyone else. She couldn’t gauge anything from their faces, but Harley didn’t seem upset so she hoped this meant that she wasn’t about to be killed. She nodded hesitantly.

“Right. I’ll have to get inside the building and find a room that won’t change.”

Joker nodded and offered her a hand up. “You know where Wayne Manor is?”

She stared at his hand and swallowed thickly before taking it. She winced when she realized how warm it was. She’d been expecting something cold and clammy, like a corpse, but this was somehow worse. Knowing he was alive and just like that made her stomach turn.

She opened a portal to outside Wayne Manor.

“I don’t know how we’re supposed to get past the cameras.”

“Like this,” he chirped, pointing his gun at the nearest one and shooting it out.

Marinette clenched her fists. “Yeah, that’s one way of doing it,” she mumbled. She opened a portal to get inside the fence and cringed as another gunshot rang out. He was shooting out every camera, which was a good thing from a ‘breaking in’ standpoint but bad from a ‘protecting the Waynes’ standpoint.

They slipped through the house, undisturbed. Of course it was undisturbed, there was no one here --.

Except there was. And she looked right into the face of Tim.

Her eyes widened and she looked at Joker and Harley, hoping against hope that they would somehow miss him. He was short, this could work –.

But she never was lucky. And Joker had his gun out.

She jumped in front of Tim, pushing him to hide behind her.

Wow, she really wished she could stop having guns pointed at her. It really hadn’t gone well for her since she’d come to Gotham. Last time Robin had been shot, the time before that she’d been.

She wasn’t anxious to see what would happen if she got shot this time, she had no clue how Joker bullets would work with her costume. Would she not be affected? She hoped so, but what would happen if she was? This was a chemical thing, not just the usual brute force. Would the suit be useless against it? Would it keep her alive, choking on her own blood until the chemicals were out of her system? Which would be worse?

And she knew he would shoot her.

Because, ultimately, she was expendable. All the Rogues were to Joker. Sure, it would be a pain to plan around it, but they could always mow down security guards and get inside that way.

She just needed to reason with him. Would he listen to reason? She hoped so.

She felt hands grip the back of her dress and looked back at Tim. He was definitely playing up whatever fear he had because he looked absolutely terrified. Good, at least they would never expect him to be a vigilante.

Not that it would matter if Joker shot them.

“What’s wrong, NightMare? You look like you’ve just had a bad dream.”

She resisted the urge to gag. She’d heard of how bad his jokes were, but really? He was worse than Chat Noir and – WAIT DON’T LOAD THE BARREL LIKE THAT.

She swallowed thickly, a hand reaching back to make sure Tim didn’t try and do something stupid like pushing her out of the way.

“Joker, we can’t shoot him,” she tried.

“I told you she would be a liability, Harls,” Joker said. “She just doesn’t have the balls to kill people.”

Harley winced beside him, her eyes falling to the floor.

“But it’s not even that!” She said. Except it was. But she could work around it. Reason. She needed a reason. “Listen to me! If we kill him then the Gala probably wouldn’t happen. Bruce loves his kids, right? If he ended up dead, then he would probably cancel. We can’t kill him!”

Joker stared her down. He wasn’t smiling behind (the mask? his face?) anymore, his lips set in a grim line. This was almost worse. She almost missed the smiling, at least then she had an idea of what was going through his head.

And then he lowered his gun.

She let herself relax a little. They continued through the house with Tim at their side. She made sure to stand between him and the Rogues. Just in case.

After she had pretended to memorize every room in the house (because, really, she knew most of it by heart thanks to the prank war), she opened a portal for them.

Joker stepped through and Harley stopped her before she could follow. “Puddin’, we’re just going to have a little chat, okay?”

“Fine!”

Marinette tensed. The portal closed and they were cast into silence. She hadn’t made it too obvious she was a hero, right? After all, it could just be brushed off as her hating the idea of killing…

Right?

Harley waved Tim off and she glanced back at him. He was still holding onto the sleeve of her dress. She gave him a small smile. “Hey, it’s fine. Go back to work, alright?”

He gave her a slightly skeptical look but then nodded. “Thank you.”

“Of course.”

She watched him leave and then turned to Harley. Was she suspicious? Did Marinette give anything away accidentally? Was this it?

“So, how do you know Tim?”

Marinette tensed. “I’m sorry?”

“You know him. How?”

She bit the inside of her cheek. What could she say? She couldn’t call him her friend, that would make it to obvious who she was. But she couldn’t act like she didn’t know him at all, that would make Harley suspicious…

“I guess I could call it…” She took a deep breath to steel herself. Her face reddened. God, he was going to hear this. “A celebrity crush?”

Harley squealed. “That’s so cute! Oh, and you saved his life? C’mon! He owes you a date!”

Damn it, Joker should have shot her. It would have been less excruciating than this. She buried her face in her hands. “I’d prefer… not doing that.”

The woman wasn’t listening, though. “Oh, you two would be so cute together! Your kids would be --!” Marinette decided that she was not going to pay attention to this, glaring at the ground as they walked through the mansion.

She was never going to live this down.


	41. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Going on a few day break to see family <3

Marinette’s face burned.

Harley wasted no time in telling the other Rogues about what she had learned, and now all of them were cooing over the ‘future couple’.

Outside of Joker, who was watching her suspiciously out of the corner of his eyes. But what else was new?

She ducked out as quickly as she could, sending everyone a wave before opening a portal back to Wayne Manor. She decided that she still liked portals despite... past experiences with them. They were very convenient when it came to avoiding things.

Except now she was home and Tim was already there and damn it.

She held up a finger to silence him quickly and pressed a hand to her ear to turn off her comms, then detransformed.

Everything done, she sent him a glare. “Why were you here?” She asked. “Shouldn’t you be on patrols?”

He blinked once, then held up his hands placatingly. “Dick got worried about whether or not you were okay so one of us had to go and pretend to check on you.”

Dang. That was a good reason.

He grinned and stepped closer. “So... celebrity crush, huh?”

She felt her face redden again. “Well, you are technically a celebrity.”

“That wasn’t the part I was asking about.”

She avoided eye contact. Maybe she could find Damian and convince him to cataclysm her. She was faster than Tim, she thought, she could probably do it --.

A hand touched her cheek and she looked up, very sure that she was about to combust.

He looked far less smug than she expected him to. Granted, he still looked pretty damn smug, but she hadn’t expected his eyes to look so... soft.

“Y’know, I have a celebrity crush, too, now that I think about it.”

She blinked. What did this have to do with anything? And, really, was this the best time to talk about it? “Really?”

“Yeah, I don’t know if you’ve met her, though. You and her never seem to be in the same place at once. Her name is Ladybug.”

Marinette smiled faintly, rolling her eyes as she reached up and rested a hand over his. “You know that Ladybug is a persona, right?”

“Of course.” He smiled. “But I get the feeling I’d like the girl behind the mask, too.”

“Really?”

“Mhmm,” he said.

She brought her hands up to cup his face. “Y’know, it’s dangerous, right? We get hurt all the time, what if...?”

He nodded slightly. “We’d get hurt anyways, right? Might as well be happy until then, don’t you think?”

She considered this. It would be nice, she supposed. If anything were to happen to them and they had chosen not to date, then would she regret never truly exploring their relationship? Or would she regret it more if they dated and he ended up dead? She didn’t know. She didn’t like not knowing.

She bit the inside of her cheek and looked up at him.

She closed the gap between them. He stiffened slightly in shock. Then, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed back. Well, you could technically call it that. They were smiling too much to properly kiss.

She didn’t mind, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also this was supposed to be longer but my computer deleted it all and I'm nothing if not lazy


	42. Chapter 42

A few hours later, they were found curled up on the couch together. Marinette had found a nice place on his lap and now sat there, head resting against his chest as she put the finishing touches on Chloe’s outfit. Tim was working as well, arms slung around her waist, head resting on top of hers to see his keyboard. Occasionally, they’d pull away to chug one of the ten cups of coffee they’d stockpiled before getting right back into position.

The bats were… not prepared to find them like this. Damian groaned and walked out, muttering something about how gross they were. Jason was absolutely ecstatic, apparently seeing this as proof that Marinette was definitely going to be in the family. Dick looked a bit horrified (probably because, in his eyes, Tim had started dating Marinette basically minutes after Ladybug had admitted to having a crush on him). Bruce, however, wasn’t even paying attention to the couple themselves.

He walked over and picked up their coffee trays, much to their dismay.

“Dad, why?” Whispered Tim, who had never looked so betrayed.

“Your caffeine intake doubles when you’re together.”

“Probably because there’s two of us,” said Marinette simply, not even bothering to look up from her sewing.

“No, you both drink twice as much.”

Both of their hands paused what they were doing and they glanced at each other. Sure, they knew that their intake increased when they were around each other. They’d be stupid not to notice, considering they enjoyed each other’s company and wanted to be awake for it. But doubling their already probably (definitely) unhealthy amount was…

“I’m glad you understand. I’m cutting you kids off.”

Tim narrowed his eyes. “Would you like a reminder of what happened last time one of you guys tried to get between us and coffee?”

There was a collective wince. That prank war had not been the desired effect and, honestly, they were beginning to suspect that their caffeine usage afterward had actually increased.

Marinette, however, snickered. “Hey, sweetie, wanna move in with me?”

Tim’s eyes widened and then a grin broke across his face. “Sure, I’ll pay off your apartment.”

“Great. We’ll need to go get some more furniture this weekend, then.”

“Good, the place looks a bit plain. I’ll clear Saturday.”

“Woah woah woah sloW DOWN I THINK WE’VE SKIPPED A FEW STEPS,” said Dick.

“Desperate times,” said Marinette simply. She tipped her head back and smiled as Tim pecked her lips. Then they looked at Bruce, who was getting paler by the second. After a minute of him not relenting, she pulled out the big guns: “How do you feel about kids?”

“I’d consider it.”

Bruce quickly gave them their drinks back. “Maybe wait on the kids for a few years.”

Marinette and Tim looked at each other, then laughed as they each took a cup. “Please,” he said, “I’m not having kids.”

“Why not?” Complained Dick. “I want at least one of us to have kids! Jason and Damian are hopeless! You’re my last chance!”

Jason nodded his agreement, then narrowed his eyes and sent his brother a glare.

“No way. Kids are a lot,” said Tim, and she nodded her agreement.

“If you want kids so much then have some of your own.”

Dick scoffed and shook his head. “You three were enough, thanks.”

“Then why --?” Began Marinette, but she was cut off by his brothers complaining.

Bruce sighed and pressed his hands to his temples and walked out.

Dick crossed his arms over his chest. “At least consider having kids?”

Marinette rolled her eyes and waved him off. He gave her a pout and she made the motion again. This time he listened, sticking his tongue out at her on the way out like the mature adult that he was.

Now it was just the couple and Jason, who looked conflicted. “Mari, if you hurt him -- no, Tim, if you hurt her -- no… hm… if either of you hurt each other I’ll kill myself.”

“Jason, no --.”

“Bean, I’m breaking up with you temporarily for completely unrelated reasons.”

“TIM, NO --.”

~

She smiled as she finished the last stitch and glanced up at her boyfriend. He hadn’t typed in over half an hour so she’d expected him to be asleep. Apparently not. He was glaring at nothing in particular. She raised her eyebrows and pressed a tiny kiss to the corner of his mouth.

He blinked once and looked down at her, his face softening a little. “Hey.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m trying to think of a way to keep the Rogues out without making it obvious you betrayed them.”

She shrugged her shoulders slightly and set down her work. “Even if there was a way, I don’t think it’d stop them for long. They’d just walk inside normally… if ‘normally’ included mowing down guards.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Then why bother trying to think of something?”

He hesitated slightly. “Because I’d rather try and fail than do nothing and regret it later.”

She winced. She’d thought that before, so when…?

Her brain brought her back to the night she’d met him as Red Robin. They’d been four vigilantes down, Joker had broken out. Marinette had pushed the thought of it out and told herself that, with his track record, Joker would have gotten out either way. It was a flimsy excuse to avoid whatever guilt she could and, with all the hecticness of the following months, it had been enough to distract her.

But for him… The next day she’d been sent a picture of him hunched over his computer with stress lining his face. She’d brushed it off as him being stressed out because of his work, he was a CEO after all, but now that she knew he was Red Robin she was able to guess that it had been guilt.

She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.

“I want to at least have an idea of what we’re going to do,” he said.

“But we still don’t even know what their plan is or their motives. It’ll be impossible to think of a proper way until then.”

He nodded. “And you’re going to ask soon.”

She swallowed thickly. She’d been avoiding it for a while now. Mostly because she was scared that, if she asked directly, someone (probably Harley) would figure her out and she’d be killed. Still, she nodded slightly. “I have to at some point. Planning can only get so far if we don’t know what they’re going to do.”

He nodded his agreement. “Yeah, it would be great if everyone would just tell me their plans.”

She frowned. That sounded a bit accusatory. “What do you mean?”

He rolled his eyes. “Bean, I know you’re planning something that’s probably stupid and dangerous. And I know you’re not going to tell me because you don’t want me to stop you.”

She didn’t answer. She couldn’t. It was true.

He gave a small sigh of annoyance and buried his face in her hair. “Just promise it won’t be too stupid, please. Just say ‘I will probably not die’.”

“Of course,” she mumbled. “Would I ever do something like that?”

He snickered.

“I will probably not die. I promise,” she said after a bit.

She felt him smile against her hair.

~

Tim had fallen asleep, their arms wrapped around each other. She, on the other hand, was trying her hardest to stay awake. It was surprisingly difficult, despite her track record. Still, it wasn’t all that weird. Most people would find it hard to stay awake when they haven’t moved for over an hour. Especially not if they’d been awake for days on end already.

Eventually, though, all the coffee caught up to her in the worst way possible. She had to go to the bathroom, and now.

She bit the inside of her cheek and attempted to detach herself without waking him, only to feel his grip tighten. She sighed lightly. Great.

Well, she figured she’d wake him one way or another. She tipped her head up and kissed him. It took a little bit for him to respond but, eventually, he kissed back, smiling. After a bit, they had to pull away due to this pesky thing called air.

She smiled and reached up to cup his face. He was blinking rapidly in an attempt to wake up.

After a bit of waiting, he finally seemed to shake off his exhaustion, giving her a smug grin. “I should sleep more often if that’s how you’re going to wake me.”

She smiled faintly, rolling her eyes. “You should sleep more often in general.”

“You first.”

Marinette snickered. “In your dreams, maybe.”

“If I even had them,” he said, grinning. Then, slowly, his smile lessened. “Why weren’t you asleep?”

“Couldn’t,” she mumbled.

He frowned and brought his hands up to rub the dark circles under her eyes. “Looks like you haven’t been able to sleep for a while.”

She pulled away. “Too much coffee does that to you,” she said, sending him a short smile before disappearing to the nearest bathroom. When she came back, she found Tim clicking away at his computer. She rolled her eyes with a sigh and sat next to him with her next project, which was a suit for Jagged.

He rested an arm around her and tugged her close to his side and continued to work.

“You can go back to sleep, you know.”

He smiled. “I said ‘you first’, didn’t I?”

She rolled her eyes and started embroidering. He’d been exhausted a little bit ago, he’d fall asleep soon enough.

“By the way, I hid all the coffee in the house.”

Her hand slipped and she pricked her finger. She fought between two instincts: cursing him out or sucking on her finger to make the pain go away a bit. She settled for sticking her finger in her mouth and glaring at him. He seemed to get it, though.

“You need to sleep, Bean.”

She rolled her eyes.

“No, seriously. You’ve been up for days. How are you not hallucinating?”

She gave a tiny shrug. She actually was hallucinating, she’d just learned to ignore the things that didn’t make sense. She was pretty sure that his face wasn’t flashing rainbow colors, so she pretended she didn’t see it.

“Please, just sleep,” he begged.

She didn’t respond, eyes locked on the wall in front of her.

There was a silence as he considered what to do. “I’ll tell Jason,” he tried.

She winced. That would definitely suck, Jason would not leave her alone if he found out that she wasn’t sleeping. If what they were doing wasn’t so critical, he probably would bench her, too. Still, if she could ignore her hallucinations then she might just be able to ignore him as well.

He seemed to realize that it hadn’t worked and he sighed. “Fine, then I just won’t sleep until you do.”

She gave a snicker. Even if he had a few days on her, she was far too stubborn for his threat to worry her. He’d give up soon.

Except… he didn’t. And, as it turned out, he didn’t need to wait long. Without coffee to sustain her (the boys had banded together to block her attempts to get out of the house to get some), she was close to passing out by noon.

She glared wordlessly at Tim’s semi-smug face (he probably would have looked smugger if he wasn’t exhausted) as she dropped onto her bed. Marinette rested her head on his chest and he wrapped an arm around her again.

“I’m breaking up with you.”

“Of course, bean.”

She gave a huff and wrapped her arms around him. She honestly didn’t know if she wanted him to be there when she slept. On the one hand, he was really warm and she felt comforted when he was around. On the other… he’d probably find out the real reason why she wasn’t sleeping, she tended to mumble while she slept, and half of it wasn’t her story to tell.

She was still mulling it over when she lost consciousness.

(Tw: murder)  
Her hand went to her yoyo. “Lucky charm,” she said, her voice dangerously calm.

The knife felt perfect in her hands. The grip and weighting made it feel like it was made for her. And it was.

The criminal’s eyes widened and he backed up quickly, his shoes struggling to find purchase on the slick floors. He tumbled to the ground, bringing up his gun as she advanced on him.

“Stay back or I’ll shoot!”

She gave a quiet laugh. She stepped forward again and again until the gun was pressed to her stomach. “Do it.”

And he did. Well, tried, anyway. The gun clicked. Horror dawned across his face as he realized that he was out of shots.

She smiled sweetly, grabbing his wrist and kicking his elbow as hard as she could. There was a crunch as it folded in on itself. He screamed and the gun clattered to the ground beside them. She hardly paid it any mind, twirling the knife in her fingers.

And then she plunged it into him and listened to his scream. This was nothing compared to the sound he made when she pulled the knife out again. She looked him over. He’d bleed out in minutes, she didn’t have to do anything at all.

She stabbed him again. And again. And again. Long past the point where he’d been unable to speak through the blood gurgling from his throat, past the point where he’d stopped moving.

But the worst part wasn’t the blood. It wasn’t the screaming, the yelling for help, the begging for her to stop. It was the fact that she couldn’t even bring herself to feel bad about what she was doing.

Not in the moment. Not afterward.

And especially not when Robin was lying there, broken and bloody.

She looked down at the knife in her hands, chewing on the inside of her cheek. She’d used her lucky charm. She could do miraculous ladybug and fix everything.

Robin would be fine, he’d be alive… but she’d be fixing everything.

Her eyes flicked over the man beneath her. He’d be fine, he’d be alive.

He didn’t deserve it. Just like Robin didn’t deserve to die like that.

Her gaze fell on Robin again and her grip tightened on the knife --.

(Tw over. It’s just the memory of her killing the guy who killed Robin.)  
She woke up shaking. Wait, no, someone was shaking her. Or maybe both.

Tim was leaning over her, blue eyes wide with fear as he shook her shoulders. It was the only thing grounding her, really, as exhaustion threatened to pull her under again. She felt a strangled sob escape her throat as she sat up and curled in on herself.

Arms wrapped around her and she felt herself get pulled into his side. She hugged her knees and pressed her face down so he couldn’t see the tears streaming down her face. He was talking to her, she realized, but she couldn’t hear it over her own thoughts.

She didn’t feel bad about what she’d done to that guy. Why didn’t she feel bad? She certainly should. She was a hero, or at least was supposed to be. Surely it wasn’t a heroic trait, murdering people for vengeance and then only using her power to return him because she had to.

And then, when she accidentally murders someone, she couldn’t even return him to his body? How was that fair?

She slowly peeked out of her legs to see Tim, who was attempting, fruitlessly, to soothe her (“-- t’s okay now, Bean, it’s over. You’ll be okay --!”). Guilt raced through her. She shouldn’t have slept next to him. She could have dealt with it herself. Now she’d worried him and he was probably going to feel bad about making her sleep.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, wiping the stray tears from her face. She was calming down now, she was no longer crying. “I’m really really sorry.”

“Don’t say that,” he said quietly.

“But I am.”

“And you shouldn’t be,” he muttered, kissing the top of her head.

She buried her face in his side. She didn’t bother responding.

After a bit of silence, he finally asked it: “Sooooo... what was the dream about?”

Her fingers dug into her jeans. “How much did you hear?”

“Something about ‘Robin’ and ‘help’. You were mostly just crying.”

She swallowed thickly. Great. She’d accidentally said his name. She already knew that the bats had been told that she had ‘supposedly’ killed that guy. She didn’t know if they knew that he had killed Robin.

She sighed and pulled away until they were sitting about a foot apart. Could she even tell him? Robin was the one who had died, and he clearly didn’t want his family to know…

“So it is true.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “What is?”

“What that guy you took in said. He killed Robin and then you killed him.”

She winced, which was enough of a response. She fiddled with her hands in her lap, unable to look him in the eyes. She knew that bats were against murder, everyone knew of it. Would she get a pass if it was for revenge? Would that make it worse? Tears threatened to spill over again and she pushed herself off the bed.

“I guess if you feel bad about it…” Tim said slowly.

It was an out, but one she wasn’t willing to take. It wouldn’t be right. She shook her head slightly. “I don’t, though.”

“Bean...”

Ah. That voice. She’d never heard it from him, but everyone knew it. ‘I’m not mad, just disappointed’. She had honestly hoped she’d never hear it, but...

“I need to go,” she murmured. “Give me space.”

She ducked out the door. Her hand went to her pockets and she pulled out her phone, weaving through the house.

Definitelyforgottosleep: where r u

Therealdamianwayne: My room. Why do you ask?

Definitelyforgottosleep: ill be there soon

She pushed her phone back into her pockets and rushed to Damian’s room. He was already at the door when she got there. He took one look at her tearstained face and frowned. “Uh…”

“Tim knows.”

“Yeah, he’s known you’re Ladybug for a while --.”

“No, he knows about you.”

“Knows about --?” His eyes widened as realization dawned on him. “Damn!” He hissed, his face going pale.

He allowed her to grab his arm. They ran out the door and into the streets, weaving through crowds. Where were they going? They didn’t know, they were just concerned about getting away from the bats before news spread.


	43. Chapter 43

For two vigilantes, they seemed to know nothing of stealth. Damian was getting dragged around by a girl pretty much half his size in a suit that looked more expensive than every house on the street combined. Marinette was wearing her Red Robin hoodie but it never dawned on her that she should pull the hood up to cover her face even when people stared at them.

So, it was no surprise that people were snapping pictures of the pair.

Her phone dinged like it usually did when she was mentioned on Twitter and she scowled as it started going off like an alarm, bringing even more attention to them. She turned her phone on silent and stuffed it back in her bag hastily, but it was too late. People had noticed them and were now following them.

It was because of all this attention that they didn’t notice that two of the people tailing them were in familiar suits.

At least not until they were in the bad part of town which, really, isn’t the best place to be abducted.

She chanced a look back to see them and her face paled. “Damian.”

“What?” He asked, his hands in the pocket of his suit where she figured he had a few tiny weapons stashed. She tipped her head back towards them and he followed her gaze. He sighed and shook his head exasperatedly. “Man, can’t we run away from our problems in peace?”

She gave a short, somewhat bitter laugh. “Can’t we do anything in peace?”

His sigh was enough of an answer.

Their eyes fell on the people following them, who had sped up when they’d noticed them. They were definitely trying to be subtle about it because onlookers tended to be more protective of people who looked younger, but they were steadily gaining on them.

Marinette and Damian locked eyes and gave each other a short nod.

They turned down an alley together and then broke into a sprint. They heard the people behind them curse and pick up speed.

They couldn’t just attempt to beat them up, no matter how much easier it would be. After all, they could only pass off so much fighting as just your average self-defense. No, they had to outrun them or outsmart them.

Luckily, these guys probably couldn’t injure them. Based on what she assumed happened to the people who had sprained her ankle before, they’d been given pretty strict orders to keep them healthy and safe.

A straight fight was unlikely on both sides.

Their eyes darted over the alley as they ran through, looking for an out. One of them might be able to climb on a dumpster or some trash cans to the safety of the rooftops, but the other would definitely be caught. Marinette settled for kicking over the trash cans as they passed and then running to catch up to her.

A glance back showed that it had hardly slowed them at all. Damn.

Marinette bit the inside of her cheek (a very painful thing to do while running) and then her eyes found their way to a bunch of stray cats. She tapped his arm and he looked over, only to cringe.

“I haven’t really gotten the hang of --.”

“We learn under pressure in this household! Try it!”

Damian sent her a slight glare before waving to the strays. To the henchmen's’ surprise, the cats seemed to nod before darting out to go attack the henchmen. They heard their cries of pain and looked back to see the cats scratching their faces.

They flashed matching grins --.

Only to bump into a pair of henchmen at the end of the alley. Marinette bounced back and hit the ground with a curse. Damian didn’t fall beside her, mostly because the nearest henchman had grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved a needle in his neck.

Marinette groaned as a bag was forced over her head from behind. She didn’t bother to struggle. No normal person could fight off three well-trained henchmen at once. Hands bound her wrists and ankles roughly and she cringed as she was picked up.

“You know, it’s really not fair of you guys to outnumber us. It’s almost like you want to win or something,” she joked quietly.

No response. Man, why couldn’t her abductors at least have a sense of humor?

~

The bag was pulled off of her head and she cringed at the light beaming down on her. “You know, you guys really need to stop abducting me. Honestly, just give me a ring. I’ll be here,” she said, tipping her head back to rest against the chair.

Her eyes flickered over Harley and Poison Ivy, who were both smiling at her. Then to Riddler, who was so uninterested he was actually on the other side of the room. And finally to Penguin, who was casually scrolling through his phone.

Wait, where was Damian? Her face went pale as she looked around wildly for her partner, only to find he wasn’t present.

“Where’s…?”

“He’s safe if that’s what you’re asking,” said Penguin, giving a vague wave of his hand.

She let herself relax a little. Sure, Penguin was liable to lie to her for his own gain, but she had nothing of value to him (or so he thought) and, honestly, he’d probably have more to gain from telling her that they were intending to harm him.

“Aw, so you’re worried about your little boyfriend?” Cooed Harley.

Marinette laughed and shook her head. “Ew! He’s like a brother to me! Besides, I’m already dating someone.”

Harley’s eyes widened. “And you never told me? Oh my god! Who?”

She found herself looking at her feet, red creeping across her face. “Uh… Tim.”

There was a silence as the two female Rogues looked at each other, conflicted expressions on their faces. Ah, makes sense. If both of the kids you had somehow ‘adopted’ ended up liking the same person, you’d probably be a bit conflicted as well.

Marinette pretended to shuffle awkwardly in her chair in their distraction, checking her bindings, and was annoyed to find that they were rather tight.

After the silence had stretched on too long, Marinette sighed. “Right, why am I here again?”

“Oh, yeah!” Harley snapped her fingers. “Are you going to the Wayne Gala?”

“Yeah,” she said simply. “Why?”

“Um… no reason!” Said Poison Ivy, who was shockingly bad at lying for someone who’s entire criminal career was based on seducing and killing rich assholes. “Just… thinking that maybe you should head home early!”

Marinette blinked a few times and then frowned. “Why? How early?”

“Uhhhh… curfew! You’re a kid and your parents aren’t here! You need a curfew!”

Harley sighed and shook her head with a fond smile on her face. “We’re going to do something at eleven-thirty, so please try and leave by eleven.”

She bit the inside of her cheek and nodded slightly. What could they be doing? It was a masquerade and the reveal was at midnight, it couldn’t be something to do with the actual people there. But, if it was a simple robbery, then why would they wait until the Gala? Was it dramatic effect? Why would --?

“Great! You should get your friends out, too.”

She hesitated. “But they’re the hosts. They can’t just… leave.”

“Why not? It’s a masquerade. It’s not like anyone would know.”

Marinette had to give it to them. They had a point. “Right, fine, I’ll leave early. Is that all?”

Harley nodded and beamed as she leaned down to let her go, only to be stopped by Penguin. Everyone in the room paused and looked up, even Riddler gave a curious glance.

“No, I have one last thing to ask,” he said. He showed everyone his phone. Everyone went stiff with shock at whatever it was. Then, finally, he let her see what was so interesting.

She tried not to pale.

It was a picture from the night Robin had died. The picture was blurry, she and Robin had been in a hurry when she’d dragged him to her apartment, but it was clearly them.

She gave an awkward laugh. “That’s… not really a question, now is it?” What else could she say? Even if she thought up some brilliant lie, which was unlikely, Harley would be able to catch her out on it.

“Darlin’... do you… know who Robin is?” Asked Harley slowly, looking betrayed.

Marinette felt a guilty pang in her chest. Sure, they were criminals, but she’d become fond of them all -- excluding Joker -- over the time they’d spent together. She didn’t want them to feel sad, much less betrayed, because of her.

All she could do was stare at the ground.

“Would you tell us?” Asked Poison Ivy, kneeling down to look her in the eyes.

Marinette’s eyes flicked away from her face as quickly as possible, but it wasn’t fast enough. She bit the inside of her cheek. “I…”

Penguin pulled up a new photo, this one of her pulling Damian through the streets earlier that day. “Is Damian Robin?”

She swallowed thickly. “No.” Not anymore, at least, she thought.

There was a silence as Harley scrutinized her face. Eventually, she shook her head. “She’s telling the truth.”

“I guess that was a stretch,” admitted Penguin. “Worth a shot, though.”

“Who is it, then?” Asked Poison Ivy.

“You won’t be able to guess,” she said.

Harley gave a quiet sigh of frustration and crossed her arms over her chest. “She’s confident. We’re not getting answers from her, apparently.”

“That is because you’re asking the wrong questions,” said Riddler, crossing to their side of the room in three steps.

Marinette’s smug expression dropped. He sat down in front of her and she resisted the urge to lean away from him. She didn’t like the look in his eyes, the way he was smiling like he’d accidentally found that missing piece of his puzzle underneath the box. He pulled a deck of cards from his pocket and started shuffling them idly.

“The wrong questions?” She echoed quietly.

“Yep! Who cares who they are, because ultimately we should be asking who you are!”

Marinette frowned. “Who… who I am?”

“Of course! Why exactly do Robin and, presumably, the other bats talk to you?”

The warehouse was completely silent save for the quiet shuffling of his cards. The Rogues were looking curious now as well, and Marinette’s skin crawled. She didn’t at all like where this was going, but trying to avoid whatever he was saying would definitely lead to them being more suspicious. All she could do was accept her fate.

She gave as big a shrug as she could. “They helped me.”

“But they help a lot of people! What’s so special about a little French designer?” His hands stilled and he smiled, setting down his cards and steepling his fingers in front of his face. “Unless, of course, you’re more than a French designer.”

“So, Marinette, are you Ladybug?”

Her breath left her throat in a wheeze. She wanted to deny it, she did, but Harley was scrutinizing her face so hard that she knew that it would be useless. All she could do was hang her head.

Silence loomed over them as the news sunk in.

Then, to everyone’s surprise, Penguin started laughing. Marinette’s head snapped up. She’d never heard the sound before, and now she was wishing she never had. There was something so unsettlingly… humorless about his laugh, it made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

The top of his umbrella pressed to the back of her neck, the razor-sharp tip drawing a little bit of blood.

“Now, Ladybug, here’s how things are gonna go…”


	44. Chapter 44

Her eyes snapped to Penguin, who was calmly rifling through his pockets as if he wasn’t currently pressing the equivalent of a knife into her neck. After a few seconds, he pulled a tiny black dot from his bag.

“This is a bug. It allows us access to everything you see and hear. You’re going to wear it at all times.”

“And if I don’t…?”

He smiled sweetly. It didn’t suit his face at all. “Then those friends of yours are going to have some accidents.”

She nodded slightly and bit the inside of her cheek. Part of her was tempted to just take it and put it on her civilian self, but then it would disappear whenever she transformed. She doubted they would take too kindly to the deception, nor would they listen to any explanation she gave.

“I’m going to need two of those.” There were a few frowns and she gave an awkward shrug. “My costume gets rid of everything I’m wearing, no matter where it is.”

Penguin cursed a little but agreed to dig through his pockets and hand her one.

Great. So now that problem was solved. New problem! What is she supposed to do about the whole ‘NightMare’ thing? It would also disappear when she turned into NightMare, and they would either assume she had taken it off and kill someone she cared about or they would figure out it correlated with when NightMare went out and kill someone she cared about.

She was let go. After a few seconds, Penguin removed the umbrella from her neck and she breathed a tiny sigh of relief.

Marinette cringed as he fastened the bug to her forehead, pushing her bangs back a bit more than normal. A glance in the mirror made her wince. It blended into her skin almost too well, looking like a mole that she usually had hidden behind her hair. There goes the hope that the bats would notice. Tim might, but not before he said something that could endanger the family.

She set the extra bug in her pocket. She’d have to put it on when she transformed.

“Put the bug on.”

“Now?”

The Rogues sent her a harsh look and she nodded, pulling it back out and setting it on the chair. She glanced around.

“Could you… look away? I don’t… transform in front of people.”

They all looked annoyed but eventually turned around.

“Tikki, spots on,” she murmured. In seconds she was in her costume and she reluctantly placed the bug next to her bangs again. She shuffled uncomfortably as everyone looked at her and stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jacket. “Great. That’s done.”

“I hope I don’t have to tell you that this will remain between us.”

“I’m not stupid,” she said, sending him a glare.

Penguin gave a small shrug and she bit the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from cursing him out.

Then Harley walked over and tugged on Marinette’s mask. A confused look dawned across her face. “Why can’t I take off your mask?”

Marinette blinked in surprise. Why did she care? They already knew her identity… “It wouldn’t come off unless I wanted it to.”

“Miraculi are weird.”

She nodded her agreement, still trying to figure out why it mattered. It wasn’t until Harley had turned away to go talk to Poison Ivy that she realized that she must have thought that her miraculous resided in her mask like NightMare’s did. Damn, way to research the enemies, guys. Still, they weren't trying to get her miraculous, so it wasn’t important.

What was important right now was...

“Where’s Damian?”

Penguin rolled his eyes. “I’ll retrieve him.”

Marinette nodded and watched him leave. No one was paying attention to her anymore, content with the knowledge that she wouldn’t do anything for fear of her friends’ safety. Riddler had gone back to being uninterested now that the mystery was solved. Poison Ivy and Harley were chatting, bitter expressions on their faces.

She dropped her transformation.

A few minutes later, Penguin brought in a slightly dazed Damian. “He took a lot of tranquilizer, so he’ll probably be messed up for a little while.”

She sent him a glare as she ducked under Damian’s arm and held him up. “Thanks for taking such good care of him,” she hissed.

“We could do worse,” warned Penguin.

She clamped her mouth shut and began dragging Damian out onto the streets. A quick glance at her phone confirmed that, hey, they were ages away from either of their houses and also in a terrible neighborhood. Great.

She reached into his pockets and rifled around despite his weak protests. She pulled a gun, loading it, and beginning to walk.

They began walking, the afternoon sun beaming down on them. She was already burning up from the effort of carrying Damian along -- he was heavier than he looked, and he already looked pretty damn heavy -- but the sun attempting to roast them alive was just adding insult to injury.

Marinette bit the inside of her cheek nervously. What was she supposed to do? She couldn’t really just not go as NightMare for a while, the Gala was approaching very rapidly and her absence would be both suspicious and unwise. There was nothing she could do.

And then there were the bats. She didn’t want to double-cross them (could she even call it that? Would it be triple crossing? Quadruple crossing? Double-double crossing?), and she couldn’t think of any ways to tip them off without the Rogues noticing.

She grit her teeth tightly. She found herself wishing, for the millionth time, that her Miraculous Cure could change memories. Everything would be so much better if she could just wipe someone’s memory of who she was, if she could get rid of all the memories of the terrible experiences victims endured…

But she couldn't. And now she was stuck in a mess she couldn’t fix with people’s lives at stake.

“We can’t go home,” murmured Damian, pulling her from her thoughts.

She nodded slightly. The bats would be… more than a little peeved off about the secret they’d kept from them and, though they could only avoid them for so long, she wasn’t ready for that conversation. Damian wasn’t either. They needed time.

And time, of course, was needed for her to think things through.

“Can we get to your place?”

She shook her head slightly. “Too far. If we tried to walk there we’d get there tomorrow morning.” 

“Do we have money for transportation?”

“Do you think we’d be walking if we did?”

Damian sent her a halfhearted glare and then groaned and leaned into her so heavily she thought she would buckle under his weight. She continued to hold him up, though -- mainly because she didn’t want to have to pick him back up off the ground if they collapsed.

She settled to dropping him on a bench and biting the inside of her cheek anxiously.

The suburbs were ages away from downtown --.

Downtown. A memory came to her and she grinned. There was a solution to at least a few of her problems.

She pulled up the Diversityadoptees group chat.

Definitelyforgottosleep: hey guys can dami and i come over

Brucesfavorite: mhmm

Before she could sound this out to figure out what this could mean, Duke answered as well.

Imsurroundedbyidiots: Only if we can send a picture to mess with The Whites(TM)

She rolled her eyes.

Definitelyforgottosleep: sure where are u

They sent her the address at the same time and she smiled to herself. After a bit of walking (and a lot of getting lost), they ended up at the door to their apartment.

If you could even call it that.

The living room was the size of her entire apartment. And there was a distinct living room. There weren't just some vague counters to separate the kitchen, there were walls. And, as her eyes landed on a staircase, at least two floors.

“I’m moving in,” she muttered, dropping onto the couch with a slight pout on her face.

Duke laughed quietly and closed the door behind her. “Sure, we have an extra room.”

“HOW MANY ROOMS DO YOU HAVE?”

He rolled his eyes and then looked at Damian, who was leaning against the wall she’d left him by. “Is he going to be alright?”

“Probably. They apparently gave him a lot of tranquilizer.”

His eyes narrowed slightly, whether with confusion or anger it was hard to say, but before he could say anything Cass came sliding down the banister. She beamed and flashed them all a wave.

Then her smile lessened.

Marinette bit the inside of her cheek. Really, she was banking on Cass being able to figure out that she was bugged immediately like she’d figured out her identity. Otherwise, she had no clue how she was going to tip off the bats.

Cass tipped her head to the side and then a smile reappeared on her face. “Popcorn and movies?”

Had she figured it out? She certainly hoped so. She nodded that it would be fine and watched her disappear to the kitchen.

Duke grinned and turned on the TV. He flipped through the channels idly as Damian slowly made his way over.

The sound of popcorn popping filled the apartment and Marinette cursed mentally, tipping her head back to rest on the armrest. Great. New plan…

The receiver in her ear crackled to indicate someone had turned theirs on.

She worried for about half a second that the Rogues would be able to hear, but then remembered when she’d had to literally smush her face against Red Hood’s in order to hear Batman yelling at them for being irresponsible back when they’d all gotten drunk. It would be fine.

She didn’t even bother to hide it as she reached up to receive the call. She saw Duke’s eyes trace the movement and then widen a bit, then looked away in case he had one to turn on as well.

“The bug’s been bugged,” said Cass, who seemed very proud of her joke.

“She’s been what?”

“Bugged. Someone bad found out her identity and now she’s got a bug.”

There was a silence as this sunk in.

Then Dick was yelling. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN SOMEONE FOUND OUT HER CIVILIAN IDENTITY?!”

“Damn, Nightwing, didn’t know you cared so much,” said Tim, who sounded a bit on edge.

“WHY DID THEY GET TO KNOW BEFORE ME?!”

“Because everyone gets to know before you,” said Cass calmly. “You’re officially the last to know.”

“IM SORRY?! EVERYONE KNEW?!”

“Yep.”

He must not have believed her, because he began going through everyone’s names. Every bat was forced to both admit when and how they’d found out. Apparently even Bruce had been in on it, having found out on a security camera around Thanksgiving. Damn. She really was not good at hiding her identity, huh?

Well, except for when it came one person, apparently. Dick was practicing breathing exercises if the mumbled counting was anything to go by. However, it must not have worked, because he was still yelling when he next spoke: “WHO IS SHE?!”

Jason attempted to move the conversation away with a quiet: “Hey, so about that bug thing --.”

Whatever attempt to save his wallet he was about to make was ruined by Cass, who simply said: “Marinette.”

The silence stretched on for a good minute before Dick began a long string of cursing.

Marinette was saved (or prevented, depending on how you look at it) from learning a bunch of new English swear words by Damian dropping on top of her -- probably revenge for leaving him to walk over on his own. She hissed in pain and cradled her stomach, where his head had hit, and cursed him out. Apparently, she didn’t need Dick’s help, after all.

Dick was still cursing when she turned off the line (Cass had come back with popcorn) and Marinette beamed as they all got comfortable on the couch.

Duke had stretched across the top of the couch so he could have room. The girls had taken to opposite ends of the couch, mainly so Damian could lay across them with his head in Marinette’s lap and his legs in Cass’s as he tried -- and failed -- to stay awake. They benefited from this arrangement, too, though, because they were now allowed to rest the popcorn on his stomach (it needed to be in the middle where everyone could reach it, a genuine war between all of them would be a disaster).

They put on a scary movie, Marinette hardly paid attention -- it wasn’t that scary, anyways. She chewed on the inside of her cheek. Great, so now the bats wouldn’t reveal or talk about sensitive information in front of her. That problem was gone.

But she had another one. And she had no clue what she was going to do.

A hand touched her cheek and she blinked a few times to clear her head. She turned slightly to look at Cass, who was giving her a tiny smile. “Relax for now. We think best when we give ourselves breaks.”

Marinette was not one to take breaks. But… as her eyes flickered over Duke, who was watching the movie through his fingers, and Damian, who had begun to hug her like a pillow in his sleep, she couldn’t help but smile. It’d only be a little while anyway.


	45. Chapter 45

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a short and shitty chapter i wrote while sicc and high on meds lol sorry

She allowed herself to sink back into the couch so she could watch the movie. Really, she didn’t see the appeal. It was pretty terrible, even by old horror movie standards. The effects were outdated, the jumpscares cheap, the premise unoriginal.  
But it seemed she was the only one to think so. Duke was clutching his popcorn bucket close to his chest, eyes wide with fear. And Cass was shaking, her hand over her mouth.

Marinette looked between them and then decided to comfort Cass because she seemed the most scared. She reached over and rested a hand on her arm.

Then she realized that she was laughing.

Marinette blinked confusedly. Well, at least she wasn’t actually terrified, but she had no clue how this was even slightly amusing. Cass grinned at her and pointed at the TV just as the character got their neck snapped.

Cass squealed with delight (Duke also squealed, but for different reasons).

Marinette leaned away slightly, a bit put off by how she found it funny.

“Look! It’s so bad!”

She raised her eyebrows and looked more closely. She saw what she meant. The ‘blood’ was such a bright color that it could have been mistaken for orange juice but definitely not blood. It pooled around the character’s head -- wait a minute! It was a neck snap! That doesn’t cause bleeding!

She gave a tiny grin. “Someone didn’t do their research, huh?”

“Guess not,” agreed Cass, before turning back to the TV.

Now that Marinette was actually paying attention to the movie, she began to realize that she had been wrong about just how bad it was. It wasn’t ‘pretty terrible’, it was laughably bad. To the point that, if you even paid a second’s attention to it, you’d realize that the people making it had exactly zero idea what they were doing. They’d been trying to make it as cool-looking as possible for the time (which, spoiler alert, wasn’t all that cool) and concentrated on that rather than having a coherent plot or making sense.

They were nearly crying of laughter by the end of it.

Duke finally relaxed when the credits rolled and the girls sent him identical grins.

“Loser,” teased Marinette.

“It’s a horror! You’re supposed to be scared!” He defended himself.

“It was a horror. When it was made. In the 1900s. Now? Now it’s a comedy,” said Marinette as she plucked the bucket from his hands. It was here that she realized that it was empty and a pout made its way across her face. “Man…”

Duke looked at both of the girls and sighed irritably when they both motioned to Damian, asleep on their laps.

“Can’t move.”

“Right, so go get us more.” She felt like she was pushing it, so she added a quick: “Please?”

He scoffed lightly but grabbed the bucket and disappeared to the kitchen.

Marinette beamed as Cass scooted closer and rested her head on her shoulder. Damian groaned and was forced to curl up on their laps in order to stay comfortable.

“Y’know, I like him better like this.”

“Quieter,” agreed Cass, grinning.

She snickered. “And nicer.”

“Screw you,” murmured Damian, and both girls went still. They looked down at him slowly, as if he was about to attack them like one of the movie’s cheap jumpscares. He sent them a tired glare and propped himself up on his elbow.

“How long have you been up?” Asked Marinette, frowning as she reached out and poked the bags under his eyes.

He rolled his eyes and batted her hand away. “A while. You’re not the comfiest person to sleep on, Marinette.”

She snickered. “Yep, too much abs. Sorry.”

“Actually? That kinda is it. You could do with eating some of your own baked goods.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “I do. I just work out a lot. If you care that much then lay on her lap instead.”

Damian shrugged slightly. “You’re about the same.”

“Really?”

The two girls lifted up the bottom of their shirts with interested expressions, then grinned at each other.

“Daaaamn,” said Marinette, laughing quietly. “I need to try your workout routine.”

“I’d love to try yours, too,” said Cass.

Duke set the popcorn bucket down on the table, which was met with a sarcastic round of applause. He gave a little bow and sat himself down next to her.

Marinette grinned at him. “Took you long enough.”

He just shrugged and held up his phone. “Check your phone and you’ll see why.”

Marinette raised her eyebrows and everyone else in the room pulled out their phones. She raised her eyebrows at all the messages and then realized that she still had it on silent from when her Twitter had blown up earlier. She fixed it and then checked what the fuss had been about:

Definitelyforgottosleep has been added to Thewaynefamily group chat  
Imsurroundedbyidiots: We kidnapped Mari

There was an attached image. In the foreground, Duke was smiling at the camera and holding up a peace sign. In the background, Marinette and Cass were comparing abs; Damian was leaning as far away from them as he possibly could without falling off of their laps, his nose scrunched up in distaste.

Marinette laughed. “Wow, rude, Dami.”

“I wasn’t interested,” he said, rolling his eyes.

She reached out and pushed his arm out from under him and snickered as he face-planted into the couch.

Brucesfavorite: Mari’s got ABS abs

Imdatingmarinetteandcoffee: I know.

Marinette, who was already blushing at the name change, burned red at the implication.

Bruecbrucewayne: you what

Idontwantpicturesthatsjustmyname: YOU WHAT

Redhoodiewastaken: you what :)

Definitelyforgottosleep: its not like that

Redhoodiewastaken: sure <3 on a completely unrelated note im dragging timberly over to give you two a lecture

Who groaned louder: Marinette or Duke? No one will ever know.

Imsurroundedbyidiots: We moved out to get AWAY from you guys stay out

Damian and Marinette gave each other nervous looks. She was pretty sure that Jason was going to give a lecture on more than just dating. While Marinette would get out of it due to the fact that she was bugged, Damian would be forced to endure the lecture alone.

Redhoodiewastaken: too late :) we’ll be there soon

Imdatingmarinetteandcoffee: Help.

Redhoodiewastaken: it’ll take like an hour <3

Imsurroundedbyidiots: noooo

Idontwantpicturesthatsjustmyname: if you guys are going over im going too lol

Imsurroundedbyidiots: noooooooooooo

Redhoodiewastaken: can’t wait to see you <3

Imsurroundedbyidiots: nooooooooooooooooooooo

She bit down on the inside of her cheek and glanced around at everyone. Damian seemed concerned about his lecture. Duke and Cass looked around the apartment that they’d specifically gotten to stay out of the batfamily’s shenanigans.

She gave a soft sight. Here it was. Her last resort.

Definitelyforgottosleep: jason ill admit ur all family if u dont

There was a moment of silence, both on her phone and in real life. Then…

Redhoodiewastaken: really :D

Definitelyforgottosleep: mhmm but if u do it anyways im gonna go back to france

Redhoodiewastaken: fine but im allowed to record it as evidence :D

She rolled her eyes.

Definitelyforgottosleep: sure

Duke grinned and wrapped Marinette in a tight hug. “You’re my favorite sister. Don’t tell Cass.”

Cass whacked them with a pillow. “Rude.”

Marinette huffed. “Why’d you have to hit me, too? I didn’t do it! Damian, help! I’m being attacked!”

“Mmm,” he said as he took the pillow from her and… propped it under his head to sleep.

“Great partner, you are,” she muttered sarcastically. “If you keep acting like this you’re going to have a new one.”

Then, it hit her. She reached up to run a thumb over one of her earrings. Sure, it was a long shot. It’d take a lot of perfect timing and a lot of praying that they wouldn’t check up on Ladybug, but it was the only way she could think of. She didn’t have a lot of time to think of a better answer.

She bit the inside of her cheek as tears threatened to spill over. She extracted herself from Duke’s hug and managed to slip her legs out from under Damian without bothering him too much. “I have to do some work.”

Cass looked at her and a tiny frown made its way across her face. “Stay safe.”

“Of course.”

She sent a wave as she slipped out the door and pulled out her phone.


	46. Chapter 46

She bit her cheek anxiously as she stood outside the door. Her hand hovered over the doorbell. She steeled herself mentally. There was no way of knowing when the Rogues would be watching (after all, they couldn’t spend all their time watching her) but that didn’t mean that she should bank on it. She had to assume that they were always watching.  
Still, that didn’t mean it was any easier to act ‘normal’, especially not with what she was about to do.

Even the idea of it made her feel slightly ill. She hated asking people for… anything, really. ‘Getting help when she needed it’ tended to not be her strong suit. Jason’s voice flickered in her mind, telling her that she hated feeling weak, and she sighed. Man, he really hit the nail on the head there. She reminded herself of the sparring lessons he’d given her.

‘Tapping out doesn’t make you weak. Actually, it’s a great show of strength to admit to your drawbacks.’

She was pretty sure that he’d stolen that from somewhere, but that didn’t mean it didn’t help.

She rang the doorbell.

The door swung open.

“Ready for your fitting?”

Chloe grinned at her. “Cutting it close as always, Mari.”

She gave an innocent shrug. “What can I say? At least I’m consistent.”

“Consistently late.”

“Details, details,” she said, waving her off. A grin broke across her face as she held up the dress for her to see. “I even got you some accessories.”

Chloe rolled her eyes and took them from her and started changing. Marinette turned away; normally she wouldn’t have cared, but with the bug… even if she knew the Rogues would look away, she suppressed a shudder at the idea of someone watching her change without her knowledge.

A few moments later Chloe rested a hand on her shoulder and she turned around with a small smile.

“You look great, Chlo.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You have to say that, don’t you?”

“Well, if I want to keep my job,” she agreed. “But, really, you do.”

She smiled and circled her calmly to check for any adjustments she needed to make and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was all fine. “Right, so, the main thing you should know is that the skirt comes off.”

“The what comes what?”

Marinette snickered. “The top layer of the skirt that goes all the way to the floor? You can unhook it… here.” She reached out and pulled on the tiny fastener she’d put in and, just like she’d said, the long golden skirt fell away to reveal black shorts. “Just so you can get around without worrying about messing up the fabric.”

Also in case she needed to run during the Gala, but you know.

Alright, now it was time to stop stalling and carry out the plan.

“And then… there are the accessories. You have a choker, a tiara, and a pursette.” She handed over the items and smiled at how well they matched.

And…

“I’m letting you borrow this. I want this back after the Gala.”

She steeled her nerves and pulled the box from her pockets. She saw Chloe’s eyes widen in shock at the familiar black box with a red design.

Chloe’s hands shook as she opened it, only to nearly drop it as she saw exactly what the thing Marinette was giving her was. The earrings had morphed in her hands and were now black diamond studs. She saw the girl’s blue eyes flick up to meet hers and then to Marinette’s ears. Her free hand flew to her mouth as Tikki slowly rose from the earrings with a sad expression.

Tikki smiled. “Nice to properly meet you, Chloe.”

Chloe opened her mouth to respond but the kwami flew up and pressed a (hand? paw?) to her lips.

“Marinette has a bug on her so she can’t tell you anything, but I can because kwamis don’t show up on cameras.”

Marinette pretended to check the stitching on Chloe’s dress again as the kwami explained everything.

“... and, now, the plan is to try and have you both transform at the same time. That way they don’t notice she’s NightMare.”

Chloe opened her mouth and then let it fall closed multiple times before finally managing to push some sound out: “What about the outfit? Won’t it be different?”

Marinette raised her eyebrows slightly as she thought of how to play it off, then gave a small shrug. “Probably not. Unless you want some major change...”

Chloe shook her head. “It’s fine.”

The kwami smiled faintly. “I’m going to tell Damian to bring over a leather jacket, boots, and a utility belt when we’re done here. The only difference will be you’re not going to get the long hair ribbons.”

“And how will we do the timing aspect?”

“You can have it tonight if you’re sure that you’re cool with the outfit.”

Tikki shrugged. “You’ll both need your ringer on. You'll walk into a random alley and send Marinette a text, you’ll get a confirmation text when she’s in an alley, too. You wait a few seconds and then transform.”

Chloe ran her thumb over the earrings, nodding slightly. There was a short silence as she considered everything, then…

“I’m surprised you trust me with… anything you care about, really.”

Marinette winced slightly and looked up at the girl. After a bit of thinking about how to answer, she moved around to wrap Chloe in a tight hug. “I… I was hesitant, I’ll be honest. But you’ve proven yourself to be trustworthy over the past few months and, honestly, you’ve proven yourself to be a good friend.”

She felt the girl go still in her arms.

“I could give them to someone else if you don’t want them… but I want it to be you. I want it to be you if it’s not me.”

Chloe slowly wrapped her arms around her as well and buried her face in her hair. Warm tears dropped onto her hair and Marinette felt tears threaten to spill over her own eyes. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t cry over this. It was temporary, after all, and she really did trust Chloe. God, she couldn’t even believe that she could honestly think that, her younger self would have been stunned and likely affronted to know about their friendship. She clutched Chloe’s shirt more tightly. But it had happened, and Marinette found what she’d said to be true. She was trustworthy. The girl let her tears fall.

“I’ll… I’ll take care of your earrings.”

Marinette gave a sound that was half laugh, half sob. “I guess you’ll finally get your wish to ‘be like me.’”

Chloe giggled through her tears. “You remember that? That’s embarrassing, forget I ever said that.”

“Nope, it’s good for the ego, so.” They pulled away from the hug and Marinette smiled, reaching up and pushing a strand of hair behind Chloe’s ear. “And, hey, if you prove you can take good care of this then I have a cute hairpin that I’d like you to have.”

She smiled and wiped a few stray tears away from her face. “Thank you for trusting me.”

“Of course.”


	47. Chapter 47

She hummed to herself as she wandered through town. She really wished they would have trusted her enough by now to just tell her their hideout location. Even if they were right to be suspicious, they really had no reason to be. She didn’t think she’d be alive if they found out she was working for the bats, so why…?  
Marinette was pulled from her thoughts when she saw the henchmen. She calmly put her hands in the pockets of her dress as they approached. Fighting back or running away was useless, considering it was about ten on one and she was still trying to remain mostly unknown, so why bother?

“Hey, fellas!” She chirped.

They didn’t smile or respond, but she was used to that.

What she wasn’t used to was them forcing a bag over her head without giving her tranquilizer. She gave a tiny, confused frown as she was hoisted over someone’s shoulder and carried out into the night.

She felt her feet touch the ground and smiled as she pulled the bag off of herself.

A glance around made the difference obvious. Joker wasn’t there. She resisted the urge to pump her fist in the air at the tiny victory.

Harley nearly tackled her in a hug and she rolled her eyes, but still hugged back. “Woo… almost time,” she said with as much cheerfulness as she could muster.

Harley seemed to brush off her hesitance as nerves, as she pressed a kiss to the top of her head and said: “Don’t worry about it, darlin’! Everything's going to plan!”

“Right, so… what is the plan, exactly?”

The Rogues went still. All eyes slowly made their way to Penguin, who gave a small shrug. “Hm... guess I never told her… oops?”

“I thought we all agreed she was trustworthy!” Said Scarecrow.

Penguin gave a small shrug. “Information is power.”

“Not when you’re keeping it from your allies!” Hissed Catwoman.

He shrugged as if to say ‘agree to disagree’. “Joker was right, though, she’s not cut out for murder. Maybe we shouldn’t involve her.”

Crap. There was no way in hell that she was going to screw up this close to the end… she raised her eyebrows teasingly. “Aw, Penguin, is that you trying to care about me? That’s so sweet of you!”

His eyes narrowed slightly. He knew that she was just doing it to annoy him into including her but that didn’t mean it didn’t work: “Of course not! I just don’t want a liability on my team!”

She hummed lightly. “Mhmm, sure. But Joker agreed I wasn’t a liability, so…”

“How would you know that?”

“I’m here, aren’t I?” Marinette smiled. “So, what’s the plan?”

Poison Ivy smiled and walked over to pull out a handy chalkboard. She drew a crude map of the layout of the Wayne Mansion with a bunch of squiggles in the middle of the courtyard to represent all the people. “Right. At eleven-thirty, you’re going to portal us inside the house because that doesn’t change. We crash the party and after that… how many portals can you maintain?”

She hesitated. “For more than a few minutes? One set.”

Harley nodded slowly and circled the two gates. “Alright, then we need you to hold up portals by these two main exits so people will have a hard time escaping.”

“Escaping… what?”

Poison Ivy beamed. “We’re going to assassinate every person in a position of power.”

That wouldn’t work unless… She went pale. “But… it’s a masquerade. There’s… how will you tell?”

Please, please, please don’t be saying what she thought they were saying --.

“Everyone there has power of some sort, either politically or economically,” Scarecrow explained. “And if the past few years have proven anything it’s that they aren’t using it right. So: anarchy.”

“But anarchy doesn’t just work like people think it does! Sure, there will be no real laws for a little while, but it’s temporary! It’s a power vacuum! Eventually, someone will come along and grab everything.”

“Exactly!” Said Penguin. “And since everyone else will be rather… indisposed, it’s ours!”

Hands came up to rest on her shoulders.

She swallowed thickly and looked away. Her mind found its way to the question he’d asked her when they’d been playing cards. ‘What is it you need?’ She’d given him the answer ‘power’ and this was his appeal to that.

And she’d be lying if she said it wasn’t tempting. She’d never be hurt again, she’d never be weak again. But she wouldn’t give in to that temptation. She couldn’t. Couldn’t even pretend to. Because they would give power to her if she asked them to.

And she didn’t know what she’d do.

She pushed his hands away and took a step back. “There are going to be kids at the Gala.”

“Don’t worry, we have a plan to get them out,” said Catwoman, who walked over and slung herself over Marinette’s shoulders. “Why? Scared for your little boy toy?”

Her face warmed and she sighed. “A little, but also for the actual kids. How are we getting them out?”

The woman shrugged against her. “Manually. We’ll all pick them up, give them a bit of money, and send them on their way before we open fire.”

Marinette cringed. “You’re going to ‘send them on their way’? They’re kids! They won’t survive!”

“At least we’re giving them a chance to,” said Scarecrow.

“Besides,” added Penguin. “If they want they can join us as henchmen! Most of the street kids end up that way, anyway.”

She felt bile build in her throat.

She’d hoped, somewhat naively, that with a little bit of work and guidance they could all be good people. Sure, they all had done some horrible stuff, but she’d thought that they were mostly victims who had been manipulated by people who knew what they wanted and how to get it -- like Joker and, to a lesser extent, Penguin. But now… she was forced to confront the fact that, beyond whatever had happened in their lives to make them snap, they were ultimately smart people. They were perfectly aware of what they were doing and were absolutely okay with it. Took joy in it. It would take theoretical years of work for them to ever be fully rehabilitated, and even then she had her doubts it could work.

But then Harley reached out and poked her cheeks up into a smile and gave her such a kind look that Marinette managed to hold onto a scrap of that hope. There had to be some little pieces of humanity left in them, she’d seen them poke through -- they’d been angry when their henchmen had hurt her, they’d decided to spare the children (even if they had to justify it like that). There was still someone in there, some conscience begging to be listened to. And that was enough. She could work with that.

She at least had to try.

Marinette brought a smile to her face, taking Harley’s hands in hers. This was all if the bats won, of course, and though she hoped they would...

She figured she should have a backup plan in place. And if the Rogues won, there were some people who would need her help far more: “Can I have a mansion to help the kids? I don’t like the idea of just leaving them to fend for themselves.”

Harley smiled and squeezed her hands. “Of course! I’m sure Penguin can give you a nice one in his territory.”

Penguin opened his mouth to protest.

The woman’s eyes went cold. “I’m sure Penguin can give you a nice one in his territory,” she repeated.

He let his mouth fall closed and nodded his agreement.

Marinette couldn’t help but laugh. Then she pursed her lips as she mused aloud: “Right, so Penguin is doing this for the money and/or power.”

“Of course.”

“I assume Scarecrow is here for the fear.”

“And the elite status, really,” Scarecrow waved her off.

She nodded. “Noted. Ivy is here for killing the rich.”

“Woo!”

“Riddler…?”

He shrugged. “Is bored.”

“Right. Sorry about that. Wanna do a puzzle together in a minute?” They exchanged smiles and she continued: “Catwoman wants money.”

“Money is good,” the woman agreed.

“And Harley is here for Joker. But why is Joker doing it?”

Harley shrugged calmly. “Why does he do anything? For Batman’s attention.”

“Doesn’t he always have it? The guy could probably walk through town and Batman would show up.”

She gave her a sad smile. “It’s never enough.”


	48. Chapter 48

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> may take longer to update for the next chapter lol but ill try

The day before the Gala was… an experience.

They’d all done what had been essentially a sparring tournament. Duke won, to everyone’s annoyance, and now everyone was saying that he had somehow cheated. Marinette had no clue how he could have done so, but she was glad for the excuse either way.

After that they’d been given some lessons on how to present themselves -- only Marinette, Damian, and Jason were required to go to lecture, but everyone else had been happy to attend to take pictures of their scowling faces.

And now they were doing some ‘relaxation time’ before the big day. No one was really relaxed, obviously. Bruce went down to his brooding cave; Duke was spotted messing with a Rubix cube; Cass and Dick were sparring again to let out some energy; Damian was hugging Marinette’s cat (who had been named Chaton despite what she’d promised him); Tim was clicking away at his computer; Jason was in the shooting range; Marinette was fussing with her outfit. Anxiety radiated off of every family member.

Then, night came… and Marinette and Tim… were forced to take care of themselves.

The horror.

Except it actually was kinda terrifying how committed the family was to getting them to partake in self care. Marinette had been jumped right outside her room and then literally thrown into a bubble bath, fully clothed. No amount of cursing had stopped them from dumping an entire bottle of soap over her head.

Then, when they were convinced she was clean, they threw a towel over her and ushered her along as a group. She tried to struggle away from them, but there were at least five people on her and she was left to just curse as hands pulled her through the halls. They pushed her through the door to her room and slammed it behind her. She ran over to try and muscle it open, only to hear the lock click.

She groaned and jiggled the doorknob. Her hands came up to her hair for her hairpins and she hissed a curse as she realized they’d taken them. “I’ll kill you guys!”

“Love you, too!” Said Jason.

She called him a lot of colorful names, but this only seemed to amuse everyone.

“Go to sleep! We have all your tech and coffee! You can’t do anything else!” Yelled Dick.

Her hand went to her purse, only to find that it was gone, too.

She kicked the door once to show her anger and then groaned in pain. There was a bit of laughter from outside and she peeked through the crack under the door.

Great. They weren’t leaving. She could see someone setting up a sleeping bag, actually…

An annoyed sigh escaped her lips. She started toweling herself off properly and then pulled on her Red Robin hoodie. Marinette pouted as she climbed under the covers with the plush she’d won at the arcade. Boredom raced through her and she closed her eyes.

She really did have nothing to do other than sleep, they’d been sure of that…

Her window clicked and she peeked an eye open to see Tim’s smiling face poking above the window sill.

He managed to pull himself over and flopped on the floor on the other side, panting and red-faced.

She grinned. “Bravo.”

“You could have helped,” he muttered.

“Could have,” she agreed. “But didn’t.”

He stuck his tongue out at her and, slowly but surely, pushed himself up. It seemed they had gotten him, too, if the damp hair and new pajamas were anything to go by. “So, looks like we were both caught.”

She giggled softly. “Mhmm. Do they do this every time?”

“Nope. Apparently this year is ‘worse than normal’ and they ‘don’t trust that I would sleep on my own this time’.” He sat down next to her and raised his eyebrows at the Red Robin plush she was hugging to her chest. He reached out and gently attempted to pry it from her hands.

She gave him a cheeky grin and held it closer. “Are you really jealous of --.” She stopped herself from saying ‘yourself’. “-- a superhero?”

His face reddened slightly and he tugged at the plush again. This time, she didn’t resist. She felt him lay down beside her and smiled, resting her arm over his stomach lazily. “They take all your tech, too?”

“Everything I had on me,” he said, a cheeky grin on his face. It was here that she noticed that he had a bag on him and she raised her eyebrows as he pulled it open to reveal two phones and a laptop. “They forget I always have spares in my room.”

She took a phone from him. “You’re my hero.”

“Oh? And what about Red Robin?” He teased, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her closer to his side.

She snickered. “You’re my everyday Red Robin,” she joked quietly, resting her head against his chest.

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and started typing away.

She glanced up from her phone a while later and took in the way his eyebrows were creased with concern. She leaned over and gave him a tiny kiss, smiling when his face softened a little.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just… the Gala,” he said.

Her hands came up to cup his face. “There’s no changes you can make right now that will help anything.”

“I know, it’s just…” She felt his grip tighten on her waist. “I don’t like it. I want to do something. It feels wrong to just wait for something bad to happen.”

Marinette ran her thumb along his cheekbone. “I know… but there’s only so much security you can hire before the guests get anxious something will happen.”

“I still think we should tell them.”

She shook her head. “The guests wouldn’t come, so the Rogues wouldn’t come, and then we’d be even more in the dark about Joker’s plans. We just have to hope that the bats can fix it.”

“And if they can’t?”

“Well, then we probably wouldn’t have to worry about it, would we?” She mumbled, a somewhat bitter sound to her voice.

He nodded slightly and then leaned into her touch, closing his eyes. “You promised you wouldn’t die, remember?”

“Yeah,” she mumbled, resting her forehead against his gently. “I intend to keep that promise as best I can.”

She saw the tiny smile that came to his face at her words and felt her heart flutter a little in her chest.

“You’d better.”

She pressed a short kiss to his lips. “Of course. Who else would scam you into giving them free coffee all the time?”

“It’s not a scam if I knew what you were doing,” he said.

“Mmmmm,” she hummed, not agreeing or disagreeing.

He set his laptop down and smiled as he turned into her fully, wrapping his arms around her waist. She smiled back, looking up at him.

She gently traced the bags under his eyes. “They have a point, you should sleep. Even my makeup skills couldn't cover up all that.”

He made a face and she laughed softly, rolling her eyes.

Then his expression softened and he gave her a quick kiss. “Fine, but you need to try and sleep, too.”

She swallowed thickly. “But…”

“I’ll be here to wake you up if you have a nightmare, but could you please try? For me?”

She looked at his pleading eyes and sighed quietly, resting her head against his chest. “Fine,” she mumbled, her hands sliding down to wrap around his torso. “For you.”

He breathed a sigh of relief and rested his chin atop her head. His arms pulled her ever closer and she smiled, listening to the dull thrum of his heart.

“Good night, sweetie.”

“Good night, bean.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> may take longer to update for the next chapter lol but ill try


	49. Chapter 49

Marinette chewed on the inside of her cheek anxiously as her watch beeped to indicate that the Gala was starting. She gave Chloe about thirty minutes to enjoy herself and then sent the text behind her back. It didn’t matter if anything she said was legible, Chloe would understand.

The alleyway was completely silent as she waited for the familiar sound of a text tone. She looked up at the sky. The stars overhead twinkled. It was a perfect, cloudless Christmas night... and she was going to be spending it in an alley, then in a warehouse, then attempting to prevent a massacre. How fun. She should be enjoying her time with her boyfriend, dancing at a Gala but, apparently, it wasn’t meant to be.

She drummed her fingers across the brick behind her, her irritation spiking. All that work on an outfit for herself and Chloe only for them to get about thirty minutes of use total. Man, if only she could have gotten the bunny miraculous from future Alix. That would have been a good thing to know ahead of time.

Ding!

She was pulled from her stupor and sighed, mouthing the words. Kaalki sprang to her glasses and she felt the familiar rush of energy as she transformed.

And, with that, she was off into the night. Her hand dipped down into her pocket to brush the miraculi she’d brought along. She had a plan, she reminded herself, it just all needed to work out. All she needed was a bit of luck --.

Ah. She was screwed.

Her boots clicked on the rooftops as she made her way through town.

The receiver in her ear beeped and she touched her hand to it.

“Ready, Mari?” Said Jason.

“Not really.” A grin broke across her face despite the circumstances. “If we’re all dying tonight I’m gonna be honest.”

“Don’t say that! You need to be more optimistic!” Said Dick.

She snickered. “Mmmm, fine. Either way, I’ve kinda known you guys’ identities for a while. You Waynes really aren’t as slick as you think you are.”

She used the stunned silence as a chance to turn down the volume on her comm. She’d need it.

There was a chorus of people yelling some form of ‘wait what?!’ and ‘how?!’ and, even with her volume on the lowest setting, she still winced and brought a hand up to her ear.

“I’ll explain later.”

If she could.

But, hey, Dick said to be more optimistic and she could at least keep morale up by pretending like she thought everything would work out.

She hummed lightly as the henchmen came into view. She leaned over the side of the rooftop, watching them wander around aimlessly in search of her. She pressed a hand to her comm. “Right, I’m gonna deafen.”

Everyone mumbled their ‘goodbye’s and ‘good luck’s. She smiled and changed her setting.

Her feet hit the ground and waved to the henchmen. “Right, right, I’m here.”

She doubted they would tranquilize her this time, considering they’d want her in her best shape to keep her portals. So, she beamed as they walked towards her.

She let them force the bag over her head and raised her eyebrow as they led her through the streets on foot. Maybe they were just tired, but that didn’t mean that the tiny difference in routine didn’t give her an extra little dose of anxiety about the whole situation.

But then they pulled the bag off her head and she was in a warehouse. And Harley tackled her in a hug as usual. Everything was fine. She barely even wheezed when she hit the floor, used to this by now. She grinned and hugged back.

“So, is there anything we need to do before we head out?” She asked, resting her head back against the cold stone. Harley had moved off of her by that point but, hey, she was tired and she didn’t want to get up.

“Nothing in particular,” said Riddler, scrolling through his phone idly like always.

She smiled at him. “Cool, I got you something.”

He raised his eyebrows. “What?”

“Guess.”

He broke into a grin and turned around in his chair to face her. “Do I get any hints?”

“Only that you wouldn’t need any to solve this kind of puzzle.”

He seemed to think for a while, then rested his head on the top of his chair. “It has to fit in your pockets even with your hands in there, so… a rubix cube?”

She tossed him a Megaminx magic cube. “Close enough.”

He caught it and started fidgeting with it, a smile on his face.

Harley pouted. “I can’t believe he got a gift. I’m your favorite!”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Well, he always looks bored. If you were bored all the time I’d give you something, too.”

“Ha! You didn’t say I wasn’t your favorite!” Said Harley, grinning as she pumped her fist in the air.

She rolled her eyes and rested her head on an arm. Her eyes flickered around calmly and she came to realize that everyone was still in the middle of the room. “Where’s Joker?”

“He’ll be here soon,” said Penguin, a hint of distaste in his tone. “He’s busy with his hair.”

Her shoulders relaxed and she allowed herself to close her eyes. “I’ve always wondered if he just woke up like that or not. Y’know, with the chemicals and all.”

She felt someone come over and lay their head on her stomach and she peeked an eye open to see who it was and then closed her eyes again. Catwoman. Cool.

She rested an arm over her lazily. “You really are like a cat, huh?” She teased.

“Hey, sweetheart, promise me something?” She heard the woman mumble.

“Sure,” she said, sobering a little at the serious tone.

“We all agreed that, if things don’t go well, you aren’t allowed to come save us.”

She frowned. “Um… what?”

“You’re a kid. You need to promise that, if we start getting captured, you have to run. Or portal, whatever. Don’t try and save us. Get out. Okay?”

Tears threatened to come to Marinette’s eyes. Man, couldn’t they all just be terrible people to their cores? She wanted to just put them in jail like she did any other random criminal she stumbled across with Damian, but they just had to be nice to her.

“Okay,” she whispered, her voice tight. “I promise.”

She felt her nod. Or, maybe, she was just burying her face further in her stomach. Either way, Catwoman must have heard because she didn’t press the issue further.

She didn’t even realize she had fallen asleep until she was nudged awake. And by ‘nudged awake’ I mean she was kicked in the shoulder so hard it probably would have broken if she wasn’t in costume. Nonetheless, she still cursed and brought a hand over to cradle it. “Ow? What the hell was...?”

She opened her eyes to see Joker standing over her and her voice faltered. She fought the urge to scramble away in fear, her eyes flickering over his mask. “Uh… Joker, sir, your… face is upside down…”

“It’ll be a great punchline, trust me.”

She nodded slowly and pushed herself up. “Portal time, I’m guessing?”

“If you wouldn’t mind,” said Penguin.

Everyone lined up so she wouldn’t have to make a super wide portal so early on. She was second to last, between Harley and Joker, and she could feel him staring at the back of her head. Her skin crawled.

She took a deep breath. Right. This was going to work out. She just had to… be optimistic.

Damn. If only it was as easy as Dick made it seem. She steeled her nerves.

“Right, good luck, everyone!” She chirped.

She opened a portal at the front and everyone filed through.

She closed the portal behind herself and they made their way through the house. The heels of their shoes clicked against the stone floors as they slipped through the halls. But this was quickly drowned out by the sound of people chattering.

She chewed on the inside of her cheek anxiously as they stepped out into the courtyard. It was always weird when a silence came over a room because it was never all at once. Silence rippled through the courtyard until the only sound she could hear was her own heartbeat.

And then the screaming started.

Marinette closed her eyes and opened the portals on either side of the manor, blocking the gates. People stopped running to watch the blue portals stretch over the wrought iron. A few brave souls tested the portals to see what would happen and then came back out the other side.

The Rogues went to work, darting through the crowd in search of children. She saw Catwoman climb up a wall with inhuman speed and begin to use a lasso to pull kids out of danger.

Hey! Wait a minute! Marinette’s hands found their way to her waist and she cursed. Fine. She didn’t need a weapon, not as NightMare.

Unable to do much else, she settled for running around and grabbing kids like everyone else. She would grab as many as she could carry, vault over the wall, set them down and apologize profusely, then jump back over for more. She didn’t want to go quickly, she needed the bats to have a bit of time to give plausible deniability, but she was kinda on a time crunch...

Her eyes wandered over people, searching wildly for a familiar red suit. Honestly, why were there so many people in bright red? It’s really not a flattering color and -- there!

She found Chloe hiding out in a corner, probably waiting for the bats, and rushed over. Her gaze flicked over her hairline. She’d smashed her bug. Good.

Marinette grinned and dug into her pockets and held up the bee miraculous. “Tradesies?”

Chloe’s eyes widened and Marinette fastened the pin to the girl’s hair, then pulled the earrings off of her.

“This matches your outfit way better, anyway,” she chirped, giving a tiny wink before putting on her earrings. It felt great to have them again. She grinned. “Tikki, Kaalki, unify!”

“Good luck, right?”

She grinned. “Of course, Queenie.”

They pressed a kiss to each other’s cheeks and darted off in different directions.

Marinette couldn’t show up as a mix of Ladybug and NightMare, and she needed to keep the portals up, but that didn’t mean that she could just sit around doing nothing at all. She settled for jumping onto the roof and yoyo-ing a few people to safety when no one was paying attention.

She felt someone behind her and whipped around, her hand coming up to punch them, only for them to dodge.

She relaxed when she saw it was only Tim. “Sorry.”

“No, no, it’s my fault for just standing there! That was creepy.”

She giggled. “It’s fine, sweetie.”

She felt his fingers interlock with hers and a tiny smile made its way across her face, only to fall as they looked out over the sea of people.

The Rogues were nearly out of kids to take to safety, it seemed. Chloe was on the outer edges, shuffling along and attempting to get as many people out as possible without being spotted.

Their grips tightened on each other’s hands. It was starting to hurt but neither of them were eager to let go just yet.

She swallowed thickly. “How much longer?”

“We’re waiting until they get the kids out since they’re already doing it for us.”

She nodded slightly.

And then they heard gunfire. Their eyes flicked back down to see Penguin shooting people with an umbrella. It might have been a comical sight if he wasn’t mowing down people at an alarming rate.

She felt Tim’s grip slacken on her hand and held tighter. He paused and she reached out, taking his face in her hands and pressing a short kiss to his lips.

“Good luck,” she murmured.

“One of us has to have it,” he whispered jokingly.

She gave a quiet laugh and let go. He gave her a tiny wink before hopping down.

She surveyed the battlefield, trying to ignore the pools of red and concentrate solely on the vigilantes and Rogues. It was about one-on-one, but the bats did slightly outnumber the Rogues.

Didn’t mean much when they were refusing to kill anyone, though.

She bit down on the inside of her cheek.

Just a few more minutes, she only had to wait a few more minutes…


	50. Chapter 50

She watched all the chaos unfold below her and cringed internally as her eyes landed on Jason and Penguin.

It was a good matchup in theory: they were the only two using guns as their weapons, while everyone else was using mostly nonlethal weapons (sure, they could all technically beat each other to death, but that was much slower than a gunshot).

But it was still an unfair fight.

Jason was trying to keep bystanders safe, which was considerably harder than taking everyone down with a machine gun; even if most people had the sense to stay out of their way, some were in shock and he was forced to get them out of the line of fire. On top of that, the umbrella Penguin was using was reinforced with some sort of metal, making every shot Jason managed to get off pretty much useless.

She bit down on the inside of her cheek and tore her eyes away. She couldn’t watch them, she needed to wait until someone on the Rogue side went down before she intervened. Then she could drop the transformation without suspicion and go down as Ladybug. Just a little bit longer, Duke and Cass were making quick work of Scarecrow --.

And then Jason’s corner went still.

Her eyes snapped back to see what had happened. Her face drained of color. Jason had been shot if the way he was clutching his stomach on the ground was any indication. Penguin advanced on him slowly, as if he had all the time in the world.

Marinette bit the inside of her cheek.

Please please please someone win please --.

He raised his umbrella to Jason’s head.

She covered her eyes with her hands. She didn’t want to see, even if it would be pretty difficult to from so far away.

Beep!

His comm had stopped transmitting.

A strangled cry escaped her lips as tears threatened to blur her vision. She wiped her eyes with one hand, and the other dipped into her pockets for the final miraculous she’d brought along.

Marinette pulled it over her head. “Tikki, Kaalki, Trixx, unify.”

She had brought the flute to her lips before the transformation had even ended. White light swirled around her and she looked down at herself. Good, she looked solely like Ladybug, no hint of the other costumes in sight outside of the necklace and mask. That was fine. They wouldn’t notice.

She attached the flute to her back and pulled out her yoyo, power and adrenaline surging through her veins.

“Lucky charm,” she said softly, and a pistol was dropped into her hands.

She attached it to her belt to make sure it didn’t drop and then hooked her yoyo on a streetlamp. She vaulted herself off the roof, a tiny whoop leaving her throat as she swung her way down.

Her foot connected with Penguin’s chest and she heard a loud crunch as he was launched back into a wall. She smiled faintly at the way the stone cracked around him.

He slunk to the ground slowly.

She hummed lightly, pulling her yoyo tight. The streetlamp buckled under the force and then snapped, crashing down on the already cracked walls. She smiled brightly as it crumbled. People nearby began rushing out into the streets.

She noticed movement out of the corner of her eyes.

Marinette turned her gaze on Penguin again. He was conscious, surprisingly, though badly hurt. He was crawling out from under the rubble, using the hook of his umbrella to drag himself out.

She hooked her yoyo around his umbrella and pulled it out of his hands. A humorless laugh escaped her as his shoulders slackened, a silent ‘oh I’m screwed I give up’. She weighed the umbrella in her hands and tipped her head to the side.

She walked over slowly and pressed the umbrella to his back. She didn’t exactly know how to use it, she’d never touched a machine gun before, but she’d certainly figure it out.

He was shaking, she noted, and quite badly. Crying, actually, if the muffled sobs were anything to go by. He looked quite pitiful like that -- face buried in the grass, covered in rubble and dust.

She looked at the gun in her hands and hummed lightly, wondering if it was just a normal point-and-shoot. One way to find out --.

A hand rested on her shoulder and she turned to see Damian. She raised her eyebrow at him.

He reached out and tugged on her mask and she let him pull her glasses off. The portals flickered and faded. Somewhere in the courtyard, Catwoman cursed as her stolen weapon disappeared.

She looked back down at Penguin, at the loaded umbrella in her hands, and tensed. “I…” She swallowed thickly. “I don’t know what came over me,” She lied. She quickly peeled off her necklace as well and set it and the glasses in an empty pocket of her utility belt. “Sorry.”

She didn’t even know who she was apologizing to.

Marinette looked down at the umbrella in her hands and snapped it in two. She tossed the pieces aside.

She and Damian dragged him out from under the rubble as a team and she looked down at Penguin. After a moment’s thought, she stepped on his face, reveling a little bit too much in the way his long, crooked nose crunched under her foot.

She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Damian. “Think he’s out enough?”

“Probably. I’ll cuff him. Can you…” He glanced back at Jason and winced. “... help him?”

She nodded slightly, her hand going to the lucky charm she’d summoned. She looked at the pistol and winced lightly. She hadn’t really thought about what she’d wanted, just summoned the first thing that she’d thought of. It was the same model Jason had given her a while back. She ran her thumb along the barrel, biting the inside of her cheek.

“Miraculous Ladybug.”

Ladybugs swirled around the courtyard, but she only found herself caring about one part.

She was at Jason’s side in seconds, checking him over. Sure, the ladybugs would have gotten rid of all the injuries, but she couldn’t help but stress a little.

He gave her a weak smile, reaching up and patting her face. “Y’know, Mari, I think Dami and I are hogging all the deaths. We should share more.”

She gave a quiet laugh, because she knew that was what he was looking for, and pressed a short kiss to his cheek. They couldn’t afford to ‘waste’ much more time, but she would make sure to talk to him about it later if he wanted.

She smiled. “You’re on civvie duty.”

“You’re benching me?” He asked incredulously as she helped him up.

“Yup. Now, go.”

He stuck his tongue out at her and she grinned, then turned back to Damian. She sent him a tiny wink.

“Ready?”

They looked around carefully from their spot by the gate. Harley had been taken down by Damian before he had come over. Bruce was pretty close to pinning Catwoman down. Cass and Duke were high-fiving over Scarecrow, who was bound under their feet. Tim and Dick were fighting off Poison Ivy. Chloe was helping Jason get any stragglers out of danger.

The partners frowned at each other.

“Where’s…?” Damian began, but he trailed off. His eyes widened, focused on a spot over her shoulder, and she turned around to what was going on.

A needle pricked the side of her neck and a curse slipped from her lips. Even with her blurred vision, she could make out the green and black suit.

Riddler.

She didn’t even notice she’d passed out until she woke up, groaning to herself as she peeled her eyes open. She looked down at the damp floors and frowned, her brain struggling to catch up.

She slowly brought her hands to her eyes to try and wake herself up, only to hear a clanking sound. She looked at her wrists and blinked a few times as the shackles came into view. She tugged on her wrists, trying to slip her hands through, but to no avail. Then she noticed something else.

She wasn’t in her suit.

She snapped to attention, her eyes darting around wildly to take everything in. She was in what seemed to be a well, the moonlight above them the only thing keeping them from total darkness. A few feet away, Damian was in the same position as she was: costumeless and in chains.

She realized he was still unconscious and sighed. “DAMI!” She hissed, kicking his leg.

His head shot up and he looked at her for a minute, blinking a bit, then he frowned. “Where…?”

“Riddler got us.”

He groaned and rested his head back against the wall. “Kwamis, damn it.”

“Hello!” Said a voice from above. They looked up to see Riddler leaning over the rim. “Welcome to your escape room! You’re both a little short for this ride, but don’t worry! Together you’re just the right height!”

She and Damian met each other’s eyes before looking back up.

“You have everything you need for one of you to escape!”

They frowned at each other and then looked down for something they could use. Between them was a rock. Great. How useful.

Water crashed down on them and they gasped at the sudden rush of cold, leaning forward as far as they could to get away from it. They knocked heads and cursed, but continued to stay curled towards each other to avoid getting soaked right off the bat.

After a little bit, the water slowed but it was still rising way too steadily for either of their likings.

“You have exactly thirty minutes! Good luck!”


	51. Chapter 51

She rested her head back against the wall -- a mistake, there was now water streaming down her face, but one she had accepted. “Hey, Riddler, what happened to your whole ‘we’re not killing kids’ thing?”

“Sorry, kids, but you’re both 18! Fair game!”

She rolled her eyes. “You just called us kids.”

There was a short silence, then Riddler mumbled something that sounded like it might have been ‘shut up.’

Damian worked at attempting to break his bindings with his rock. It was apparently much harder than you’d see in movies because he was making seemingly no progress.

“Y’know this is a really boring puzzle!” She yelled.

She felt a hand smack her leg and cursed, drawing her knees to her chest and glaring at Damian.

“Can you not taunt the guy who’s trying to kill us?”

“What’s he gonna do? Try and kill us harder?”

“Yes! We at least have a chance of escaping right now!”

She rolled her eyes.

For a while, all that they could hear was the steady stream of water, the clanking of their manacles, and the sharp sound of rock striking metal.

And then Damian managed to pull himself free. He stared at his broken chains for a second, apparently just as shocked as Marinette was that he’d managed to get that to work, and then went to breaking Marinette’s bindings.

This would have been all well and good if the water wasn’t already creeping up her neck.

She sat up as straight as she could, but it wouldn’t be good for long. Even if it would be, she didn’t know how long she could hold the position. The cold water made her muscles ache from the strain of even keeping her neck up.

She bit the inside of her cheek…

She interlocked her fingers in front of her and held them out to him.

He raised his eyebrows slightly.

“I’ll help you vault up. Get out and beat him up for me, will you?”

He gave a quiet sigh of annoyance and continued to try his hardest to break at least one chain on her wrist. “Shut up. I’m not leaving you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Dami…”

“Nope! Shut up!”

She didn’t know what to do. She had no clue and she hated it. There definitely wasn’t a way for both of them to get out, there was no way Damian could break her chains in time. She could tell he knew that, could see it in the frantic way he struck the metal, but then why wouldn’t he stop? The water wouldn’t reach the top, and the walls were too slick to climb. He needed to vault up soon, while she still had enough energy to give him a boost.

He needed to get out while he still could.

She caught his hand on his next strike and held him there. “Dami… please, you have to get out, okay?” She whispered.

He sighed and looked at the rock in his hands, then his eyes widened slightly. He dropped the rock.

“The hell? That worked --?” She began, but then he shoved his hand in her face. She raised her eyebrows. “Nice?”

“Look closer.”

She snickered and glanced it over, then her eyes snapped back to his fingers.

To the industrial steel ring.

She cursed.

He leaned over her and pressed a hand to her chains. “Cataclysm.”

The illusion crumbled to dust around them.

The warm air brought her to her senses in a flash of pain as her body attempted to adapt. She curled inward on herself instinctively, screwing her eyes shut. She reached out and tapped the nearest surface twice. She could hear movement beside her but it took a moment for her to get over the feeling of her skin cracking from the sudden change.

She pried her eyes open and cringed at the Wayne Manor guest room they were in. She was laying on a bed, it seemed. Damian was next to her, though he was quickly getting up. In the corner was a very concerned and confused Riddler.

Marinette managed to pull herself together. Her hands went to her utility belt and she cursed. Empty.

Great, so Riddler had the horse and fox miraculous.

She doubted he would have found much use for the horse miraculous, though him having it was problematic for some of her future plans.

But the fox miraculous…

Well, he’d already shown what he’d wanted to do. The idea of him being able to make insane death traps (because, ultimately, any damage someone took in an illusion transferred over) without any need to ground it in reality? To make them without a paper trail for them all to follow? To be able to hide his victims in plain sight? It was terrifying, and she wasn’t about to just let him have it.

She held her hands up placatingly as Riddler’s hands went to his flute. 

“I don’t want to fight!” The two men looked at her and she gave a somewhat sheepish smile. “Seriously, I don’t. I want to make a deal.”

Ultimately, it was far safer that way. The fox miraculous was a tricky one to deal with, she didn’t want to have to directly engage with it if she could get around it.

She and Damian exchanged looks. He sent her a wary look and she rolled her eyes. After they glared at each other for a bit he finally stepped out of the room, shutting it behind him. She relaxed slightly and slowly scooted her way to the end of the bed.

“Cards?” She asked, giving a bright smile.

His eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he nodded. He took a seat a safe distance away, setting his flute down in his lap in case. She pulled out her yoyo and summoned a deck. She let him shuffle and deal.

“How’d you know? Was the ring the wrong color or something?” Asked Riddler as he handed over half of the deck.

She gave a smile and they started playing war. “Give us the miraculi and I’ll tell you.”

“No.”

Marinette shrugged. Fair enough. She would have been stunned if that actually worked. She bit the inside of her cheek.

“Right, what do you want?”

She nodded slightly. “I want the miraculi back and to have your word that you won’t tell the Rogues my identity.”

“And I get…?”

“I’ll help you get an insanity plea.”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “I’m not insane.”

“Sure, you aren’t,” she said in a gentle tone. “But I’m sure you could find some use for it.”

She let his mind wander to what it would mean. Even if she had no intention of getting him or any of the other Rogues into Arkham (they seemed utterly incompetent and there had to be other asylums around), she let him think that she would. She wasn’t directly lying, really. Just giving minimal information and allowing them to draw incorrect conclusions.

He sighed. “I. De. Clare. War.”

“I. De. Clare. War.” She collected her winnings and looked up at him. “So, what do you think?”

“Why would you help me out like that?”

“A lot of reasons, really, but mostly because I care about you and the other Rogues.”

His hands paused and, after a moment’s thought, he nodded. “Fine. But if you don’t do the insanity plea…”

“You have the right to tell the entire world my identity, I’ll get you a press conference myself.”

He stared her down for a few moments, probably trying to gauge her truthfulness, and then he nodded and slowly handed over the miraculi.

She breathed a sigh of relief and put them away. She tossed her Lucky Charm up and watched it disintegrate. “Right, I’m going to have to make it look like I beat you.”

“Of course.”

“Sorry,” she mumbled, wrapping him in her yoyo and pulling him out the door.

Damian raised his eyebrows. “It worked?”

She grinned. “Obviously. I’m a genius. Also, geniuses don’t have to carry Rogues, so… good luck!”

She handed off the yoyo to Damian before he could react and jumped out the nearest window.

She brushed some stray leaves out of her hair (she’d fallen straight into a hedge, ow) and made her way into the courtyard.

She felt herself relax a little when she saw that everything seemed to be alright. There wasn’t any blood, so no one had died in her absence, and she could see all the Rogues tied up by a fountain. Great.

The bats were circling the Rogues carefully, making sure no one escaped. As she looked closer, though, she could see their stress in the tenseness of their shoulders.

The first person to spot them was Dick, who ran forward and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Euh…?” She murmured, giving him a short pat on the back. “What’s with all the hugging?”

“You were gone for three hours! What the hell?! We thought you died!”

She felt the blood leave her face. She didn’t even know that was a real thing, she thought that was just something you read about in books, but she’d managed it. The world around her felt cold.

3 hours…?

She forced an awkward laugh and pulled away. “Yeah, we were just dealing with one of Riddler’s traps. He’s annoying. Damian’s bringing him down the regular way.”

Dick nodded slightly, then a frown came over his face. “Wait, Riddler?”

She raised her eyebrows. “Yeah…? That’s… what I said?” She said slowly.

“Not Joker?”

“No, obviously not… why?”

He sighed and pointed at the Rogue pile. Marinette raised her eyebrows slightly, glancing over the faces.

Harley Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Penguin… And Riddler on the way…

But no Joker.


	52. Chapter 52

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was supposed to be a 30k word fic this was supposed to be 30k words this was supposed to be 30k words --

Damian had set Riddler down in the pile, and now every single one of the bats was pacing anxiously.  
Except for Jason, who was pointing his guns at the Rogues at random and interrogating them.

“Where was Joker? Has anyone seen Joker? Why isn’t he around? What is he planning? How had he avoided all of us --?”

“Red Hood,” said Cass, eventually, resting a hand on his arm. “They don’t know anything.”

“They’re his teammates! They’re supposed to tell each other their plans!”

Marinette tried not to wince, shoving her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket.

“Right…” She said slowly. “Right, so, we need to split up and find him.”

“He could be anywhere by now!”

Tim shook his head, looking up from his phone. “His name hasn’t been mentioned on Twitter outside of everything at the Gala. And there are no pictures of him from the Gala. It’s like he wasn’t even here.”

The bats exchanged wary looks. Ah, that’s kinda bad. Joker stood out in a crowd, so the only way he could get away without people even talking about him was if he was killing them. Or, somehow, he’d found a way to hide out. Both ideas were pretty terrifying.

“We should split into tiny groups, partners or whatever, and look.”

Jason was at her side in an instant, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “I call Ladybug!”

She rolled her eyes with a slight grin playing at her lips. “Sure, I’ll take Red Hood.”

Damian, however, seemed less amused as he walked over and tugged on Marinette’s arm in an attempt to pull her away from Jason. “Dad, I’m her partner!” He complained.

“And I’m her mentor,” was his retort.

Bruce rolled his eyes. “Kids, we don’t have time--.” He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “How about this: Damian, you go with them and make sure they don’t kill anyone.”

Jason and Marinette cursed.

Dick picked up his phone and took a picture of Bruce, then grinned and sent out a tweet. “There. Hopefully, Gotham will pick up the hashtag and we can get Joker coming in this direction.”

“Does he have a Twitter?”

“He’d be insane not to,” said Dick with a shrug. Everyone looked at him for a few seconds and his face flushed as realization dawned on him. “I… listen…”

Marinette saved him from the imminent embarrassment: “Right, we’re going off in that --” she jerked her head to the right “-- direction.”

Some people yelled ‘good luck’ and others variations of ‘please don’t kill anyone’ as they hopped the wall.

Marinette shook her head slightly as they started off in that direction. “I can’t believe we were out for three hours.”

“Who knows what he’s done by now.”

Damian clicked his tongue. “Are we sure this is the right direction?”

“Well, unless you were somehow wrong about my location when I was completely still for over an hour, I’d say yes,” she chirped.

“And we’re assuming that he made a beeline for the Gala,” added Jason, though he didn’t seem happy about it.

“He did,” said Marinette. She had to at least pretend like she was confident because Damian was looking anxious and she wanted to try and help him.

They hopped up onto the roof of the nearest building and split off to try and get a better look at everything.

She saw something out of the corner of her eyes and frowned suspiciously, pausing in her run and turning to look at it. It was late, Gotham was always well asleep by midnight outside of criminal activity. It was nearing 3 in the morning, no one should be out.

Her eyes detected another movement and she scowled, whipping her head around to look at it.

Cass and Duke materialized out of the shadows and she breathed a sigh of relief… then tensed up. She bit the inside of her cheek.

She briefly considered throwing down a smoke bomb but, hey, they probably knew where she was going anyways. It would only work for so long. Great. Time to talk it out.

“Heeeeeey...” She murmured awkwardly. She waved for them to follow and they all picked up the pace as they ran along the rooftops. “So… it’s not what it looks like?”

Cass raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Because it looks like you knew exactly what direction Joker would be in,” said Duke, sending her a tiny glare.

“Yeah, it’s not that,” she muttered.

Duke gave a slight laugh. “Alright, I’ll bite: what is it?”

“Chaaaance?” She earned two skeptical looks and she sighed. “Fine. I closed the portal before Joker could step through so Jason, Damian, and I could loop back around towards the warehouse after the Gala stuff and kill him.”

Cass nodded slightly. “And we can’t talk you out of it.”

It was more of a statement than a question, most things Cass said were, but she still answered: “Nope.”

The two sighed.

Marinette waited for the lecture, but it never came. Instead, the two broke off from her and helped look around for Joker.

She glanced to the side and saw that Jason and Damian were also talking to someone. Great, so it seemed that all the bat kids were there. She’d have to hope that her group could find Joker first because she didn’t know how they were going to kill Joker if he had four people protecting him while he was also (probably) trying to kill them.

She slipped her fingers into her utility belt and she ran her thumb over the fox miraculous. She didn’t like the idea of using it along with the ladybug one, not so soon after what she’d nearly done to Penguin, but…

She heard someone touch the ground beside her and turned her head slightly to see Tim, her hand sliding out of her belt.

He gave her a tiny smile. “Hey.”

She sighed. “Let me guess, Cass tipped you off?”

“Of course.”

“Does Bruce know?”

He shook his head slightly. “Nope, he’s still waiting for Joker at the Gala.”

She nodded. Good…

“Are you here to convince me not to kill him?”

He gave a shrug. “I probably couldn’t, to be honest.”

She nodded. That was true. Even if he gave an ultimatum, dating him or killing Joker, she would choose killing Joker. Even if she lov -- really liked him, the wellbeing of the city would always come first.

He sighed. “Right. I want us to work, so…” He tried to catch her eyes but she kept her gaze on the ground, glad to have the excuse of looking for Joker. “Could you promise me this is the last one? The last murder you intend on committing, I mean.”

She considered this for a bit.

“Because I really don’t want to have to Catwoman and Batman this relationship,” he added, his tone only half-joking.

“I don’t want to kill anyone at all, but this is really the only solution I could find. And...” She trailed off, her eyes narrowing in on the warehouse. She glanced around and saw that everyone was slowing to a stop. No one had seen Joker, then. The warehouse was their last hope.

Tim and Marinette skidded to a stop.

She looked at the sky and continued: “And… I don’t want you guys feeling guilty about the whole situation. So… go. Get Cass, Duke, and Dick and go. We can handle him.”

A hand slipped into hers and she smiled faintly as he slipped his hand into hers.

“Hey, we’re all a family, right? You can’t do dumb stuff without us,” he said.

She finally looked over at him. “I mean…” Her eyes caught sight of movement over his shoulder and she sighed. “Okay, fine, you’ve forced my hand,” she said. She smiled faintly, gripping his hand tighter as he leaned down to kiss her.

And then she flipped him over her shoulder.

She heard two gasps as he slammed into someone, and they skid across the rooftop.

She whipped around and cursed the moment her eyes landed on Duke. Great, exactly the person she didn’t want to fight. She couldn’t beat him, she had found that out the hard way during sparring. He had this weird way of predicting her moves.

So she’d have to play dirty.

She grabbed a smoke bomb from her belt and threw it down. Smoke enveloped them and she ducked away to stop herself from coughing and giving away her location.

“Lucky charm,” she mouthed and barely avoided the giant cage falling from the sky. She listened in for Tim and Duke. They were close together. Good. She channeled some of her strength as Ladybug and tossed it on top of them.

The smoke cleared slowly and they seemed to realize what had happened, running to the bars of the cage and struggling against them.

She ignored their curses. She had bigger problems.

She looked around.

Cass and Damian were fighting, which meant Dick and Jason were the other matchup.

She bit the inside of her cheek. Cass and Damian were pretty evenly matched, but Dick and Jason…

She sighed and listened in for any sounds…

There. The alley right next to the warehouse.

She jumped down and carefully, silently, poked her head around to see.

Dick was winning, and bad. He had years of experience on Jason, and it definitely showed. She hesitated. She didn’t know if they could beat him even if they combined their forces, but she decided that it was better to face him now than face him with Joker later.

Marinette ran into the alley and jumped on Dick’s back, wrapping her arms around his neck. He cursed and stumbled back, tugging at her grip. He dropped onto the ground, driving his elbow into her stomach. The air was sapped from her lungs and she instantly let go to cradle her stomach.

Dick scrambled off of her, only to get nailed in the head by a kick from Jason. He gave a groan and stumbled back, then shook his head as if to clear it. He rolled to his feet.

He looked between his two siblings for a moment, wiping some blood from his brow.

She launched herself at him, her hand coming up for a punch, only for him to flip out of the way. His foot came up mid-flip and slammed into her chin, sending her back a few steps. Her brain rattled around in her head as she stumbled into Jason.

The man cursed and took both of their weights. After making sure she wasn’t about to fall, he ran at Dick. The man met him head-on, grinning as he blocked his hit and slammed his foot into Jason’s side. There was a clattering sound and they both went to the ground.

Marinette managed to blink the spots out of her eyes and jumped at them, adding to the flurry of limbs. They all beat against each other (Marinette and Jason definitely hit each other a few times in the confusion) until, eventually, Dick managed to extract himself.

The three got to their feet and stared each other down. They were panting, bruised and bloody, and she was pretty sure they all had concussions. They didn’t even want to fight each other, not really...

But this wasn’t a subject any of them were willing to let go.

Jason suddenly rushed forward, slamming into Dick. They crashed through a window and, after a moment’s thought, she clambered inside the warehouse as well.

The two were rolling around, the glass-covered floors scratching their skin and suits, wrestling for the upper hand.

She looked around and grabbed the nearest item -- a board off of a window. She hit Dick in the side as hard as she could and he went careening into a wall. He slid to the ground slowly and didn’t move.

Marinette dropped the board and checked Jason over. It wasn’t good, but he was conscious and moving. She helped him to his feet and he gave a weak grin.

Only to hear laughter.

They looked around.

And saw Joker...

Who was holding a hand to Damian’s throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't know if people actually like me writing extremely technical fight scenes but i like it so uh overruled


	53. Chapter 53

Marinette took in the weird strap on Joker’s hand and raised her eyebrows. Whatever it was, it had to be bad, because Damian wasn’t even trying to struggle out of his grip. It looked like one of those hand buzzers that people sometimes use to shock their friends, but it had to be deadly. Did it electrocute? Was it poisoned? She hoped she wouldn’t find out.

Whatever it was, none of them could do anything before Joker showed them what it did.

“Nice of you to drop in,” said Joker, motioning to the window they’d crashed through. “Now, if I could just glass-k you to drop your weapons and step back.”

She glanced at Jason.

He reluctantly began digging into his pockets and dropping weapon after weapon on the ground. When he got to his guns his hands hovered over his waist for a good few seconds. A confused expression passed over his face, only to quickly be replaced by vague annoyance. He must have dropped one while fighting Dick. He sighed and dropped the one he still had.

Marinette looked at her utility belt and bit the inside of her cheek. She reminded herself that Joker didn’t actually know that the miraculi were in there, so as long as he didn’t go through her pockets it would be fine. She carefully set it on the ground (she didn’t want a smoke bomb to go off and startle Joker when she didn’t know what his weapon did) and then set down her yoyo as well.

They took a few steps back.

Joker smiled, though that wasn’t new.

“So… wanna monologue?” Tried Marinette. Jason sent her a look and all she could do was shrug. They needed time to think out a plan.

Joker paused to think, then nodded. “I’ll have to do something while we wait for Bats to fly on over, I suppose.”

“Batman is coming?” Asked Marinette, raising an eyebrow.

“Yep! Because you’re going to make a distress call! Right now!”

Jason winced and brought a hand to his ear. “Hey, uh, Bats… good news and bad news. Good news is: we found Joker! Bad news is: we found Joker!” He said their location and then let his hand fall to his side.

Marinette tried not to let it show on her face that anything was amiss. Jason hadn’t actually transmitted anything; she hadn’t heard double like she usually did, which meant that he hadn’t actually pressed on his comm. Hopefully, Joker wouldn’t kill anyone until Batman showed up because it would likely be a few hours before he checked up on all their locations and realized something was amiss. That was good, maybe they’d have a plan or something by then.

Joker gave a cold laugh and then launched into his monologue: “I’ll be honest, I would’ve never dreamed that you would have managed to betray me like that.”

What? He’d never met Ladybug before, and why had he said dreamed like that --?

Marinette’s shoulders tensed. “You knew?”

“Oh, yeah. Figured you were bugged the day you came in. You never had that ‘one bad day’ that usually turns criminals, I can always tell, and your appearance in Gotham was too soon after Ladybug’s to be a coincidence.”

Her eyebrows furrowed together and she glanced at Jason, who looked just as shocked and confused. “Why didn’t you kill me?”

“I considered it, but where’s the pun in that?”

He pressed his hand closer to Damian’s neck. Damian went completely rigid (save for the rise and fall of his chest, which was getting faster and faster with each breath).

“Besides,” continued Joker, as if he hadn’t just threatened him, “I figured that I could mess with you a bit, break you a little, see how that affected Bats. I really didn’t expect you to kill that clerk, but it was very convenience that you did.”

Everyone in the room frowned confusedly.

“You know, convenience? Like a convenience store? Instead of convenient?”

“Ooooooh,” mumbled Jason.

“Anyways, all I was trying to do was get you to go against your morals. You were already on your last little piece of sanity, I figured that robbing a store would be enough. But then you killed someone! Cut them in half, even!”

“Can we stop talking about it?” Marinette hissed, her voice high. She could feel tears forming in her eyes at the memory and she was not about to cry in front of Joker.

Joker gave a humorless laugh. “Sure, sure, of horse. I was hoping that I could break you down enough to kill Bats like I tried with Red Robin, but this time it was supposed to work.” He gave what he must have thought was a pitiful sigh, but sounded more like an asthmatic’s wheeze. “Tragic, though. You hardly ever came and it was only four months, not nearly enough to work with. I had to change my plans.”

“To…?” Prompted Jason, who was shifting around anxiously.

She met Jason’s eyes. Where was Cass? The only two allies they could possibly have were her and Dick but, apparently, neither of them were in any position to fight. Dick was barely stirring now, groaning from his place on the floor, and Cass was apparently still incapacitated somewhere.

Joker thrummed his foot on the floor impatiently. “The plan is murdering all of you in front of your father, but where is he?”

“Getting here takes time,” assured Marinette, sweat beading on the back of her neck.

They weren’t going to be getting any help. She couldn’t do anything without Damian getting hurt and letting him die was the last resort… but did she have any other options...?

“Yes, yes, I suppose that’s true…” Joker sighed. “Where’s the rest of you? I heard more people fighting earlier, are they still around? Thanks for wearing each other out, by the way, really makes my job easier.”

Marinette winced. “Why would we tell you anything? You’re going to try and kill us anyway.”

“Because you’re deciding whether everyone dies quickly or slowly,” said Joker, pulling a gun from his pocket and pressing it to the side of Damian’s head. “So, Joker venom or gun? Which one?”

So that’s what that hand thing was. It was even worse than she thought.

Tears finally spilled over her mask and she hugged her jacket around herself. She had no clue what to do. What was right in this type of situation?

She looked at Jason anxiously. He looked just as lost as she was.

Joker’s smile dropped and she felt her skin crawl. He hadn’t made any bad puns or jokes for a while now, and now he had even stopped smiling? They were screwed.

“I’ll give you five seconds before I get to decide! 5…”

Marinette bit her cheek so hard she tasted blood. If he was going after everyone then should they take the longer route so Duke, Cass, and Tim could get away --?

“4…”

Jason was looking at his gun. Would he be fast enough? Not enough to make sure Damian didn’t get hurt but maybe he could get a shot off before Joker could hurt anyone else --.

“3…”

She met Damian’s eyes and he gave her a weak smile and looked at her yoyo. ‘Fix this’. She really wished he wouldn’t rely on her ability so much, she didn’t know if she could win --.

“2…”

No! She needed more time! All she wanted was more --!

“1!”

She opened her mouth to speak and Jason made a mad grab for his gun --.

A gunshot rang out.

Blood splattered over Damian and Joker slumped on top of him. He gave a strangled yelp and pushed the body off of him, quickly scrambling away.

She looked at Jason and frowned. His hands were a good few inches away from his gun, so who…?

Then she realized Jason was looking at something, his face slack with shock.

She followed his gaze to Dick, who was still pointing one of Jason’s guns at where Joker’s head had been.

“You are not taking another brother away from me.”

Dick let the gun clatter to the floor and took a few shaky breaths, burying his head in his hands.

Marinette’s eyes flickered between Dick and Damian. They both were obviously not doing well. Dick had done something against his morals. Damian had almost died again. Really, it was no surprise that they were both freaking out.

Jason ran to Dick’s side. Good, then he would be taken care of.

She pulled off her leather jacket and handed it to Damian. He frowned as he took it.

“Um…?”

“It’ll… cover the blood,” she mumbled, motioning to the red coating his back. “Bats can’t find out.”

He nodded and pulled it on. She pulled the hood over his head and pressed a tiny kiss to his cheek.

“Jason was right, it really is always you two. I’m starting to think that maybe it’s more that you’re both idiots that jump into dumb situations than luck, though.”

He gave her something between a smile and a wince.

“Yeah, you’re the one with all the bad luck,” he said, giving her shoulder a small shove.

“And I throw myself into dumb situations. It’s the worst of both worlds.”

That earned a laugh. Yay!

Their eyes fell onto Joker’s body. Ah. Not yay. She swallowed thickly and looked away.

“Cataclysm,” whispered Damian, leaning down to press his hand to the corpse.

It disintegrated until all that was left of Joker was a red puddle and the memories of his horrors.

She glanced at where Jason was slowly pulling Dick to his feet, an arm over his shoulders. It seemed that Dick had gone into shock. She sighed softly.

“Dami, go help? I’m going to grab everything.”

Damian looked like he wanted to argue, but then he nodded and ducked under Dick’s other arm.

Marinette went to work grabbing her things. She reattached her utility belt and tucked away her yoyo, then she worked at attaching everything she could to her waist. Whatever she couldn’t get to stick she ended up scooping into her arms.

She walked over to the door and held it open for the others.

The four left the warehouse in silence.

A few buildings away she stopped. She took off her miraculi and heard a curse from a nearby rooftop as Duke and Tim’s cage disappeared. After a few seconds, she saw two heads hesitantly peek over the edge. Relief washed over their faces when they saw they were okay, only to quickly be replaced by anxiety when Joker was nowhere to be found. The two hopped down and joined their walk.

She pulled her earrings back on and transformed. She didn’t need to get spotted and have Marinette Dupain Cheng to go trending on Twitter again.

She felt Tim’s arm wrap around her waist and blinked. She hadn’t even realized she was shaking until he was pulling her close to his side to hold her steady.

About a block later, Damian pointed his finger down an alley. After a few seconds, Cass emerged. She seemed mostly fine, with only a few scratches on her face and clothes and messy hair. She reached behind herself and pulled until a cat let go of her outfit and she dropped the stray. She sent Damian a glare so harsh that Marinette felt a bit intimidated even though it wasn’t aimed at her.

For a while, all that could be heard was their footsteps.

“So... is he…?” Began Duke.

Marinette gave him a nod.

“Who did it?” Asked Tim, his grip tightening somewhat on her waist.

The four who had been there tensed up and looked at each other. What were they supposed to say? The truth? Dick was already looking dead inside, she doubted he could deal with everyone looking at him like he was a murderer --.

Jason grinned. “Me. Who else? I’m not letting any of you guys have something like that on your consciences.”

Dick gave his brother a grateful smile, tiny as it was.

Marinette glanced at Cass, who looked somewhat stunned. But she didn’t call anyone out on the lie, just continued walking.

“Can you fix it?” Asked Tim.

“Nope, I used my lucky charm for my fight with you and Duke. Even if it hadn’t disappeared when I took off my earrings it wouldn’t have revived Joker.” She actually didn’t know if she was lying. There was a reason why she hadn’t said miraculous ladybug despite them all being hurt: she hadn’t wanted to test it. Now, though, all the lucky charms she had used that night were all gone. It was definitely irreversible “He can’t come back.”

Silence stretched over them again as it sunk in.

Marinette was the one to break it: “So it’s really over...”

“Not really, there’s still a lot of organized crime for us to go after. It’s Gotham, there’s always something going on,” said Duke.

“Bane’s still out there,” said Tim.

“And Mr. Freeze,” muttered Damian.

Jason sighed. “Don’t forget Two-Face.”

Damian grimaced. “Or Ra’s Al Ghul.”

“Clayface,” said Duke.

“Magpie,” offered Cass.

Even Dick joined in with a whispered: “Man-bat.”

Marinette held up her hands to quiet them. “Okay, okay, now you’re making people up.”

“Nope!” Said Jason, giving a small smile.

“Oh! Forgot one: Red Hood counts as a Rogue, depending on who you ask,” Damian piped up.

Jason’s smile dropped into a scowl. “Shut up,” he complained, leaning around Dick to swat his younger brother in the back of the head.

Damian clicked his tongue and gave him a hit back.

Big mistake.

Everyone came to a stop as Damian and Jason began running around a very annoyed and very tired Dick. The oldest tried, and failed, to bring order by grabbing them and pushing them apart, but he was easily the most drained by the night and just ended up getting a few stray punches thrown at him.

Duke and Cass started placing bets on who would kill who first.

She felt a smile rise to her face despite everything that had just happened.

“It’s okay now. It’s over,” she said, her voice little more than a whisper.

Tim pulled her closer and rested his chin on top of her head.

“It is.”


	54. Epilogue

The lady’s watch beeped.

Marinette grinned as she pushed herself off of the couch. She dug into her bag and handed over a wad of cash. “Thanks, Linda.”

“Of course.” She watched the woman count it and then put it in her pocket. “I’ll see you next week.”

“Nah, I’m going to see my better therapist.”

Linda rolled her eyes. “Harley lets you give in to unhealthy coping mechanisms, that doesn’t make her better.”

“Lalalalala! Not listening!” Said Marinette, ducking out the door.

“Right! Don’t forget your homework! Five more good things about yourself!”

“Oh nooooooo you’re too far away I can’t hear you!”

Linda groaned. “Ladybug, please.”

She sighed and stopped. She turned around, flashing a small smile. “Fiiiiiine, I’ll do it.”

“And they can’t have anything to do with how you help others.”

Marinette cursed. “I should have kept walking.”

“Too late! Have a good week!”

She spun on her heel and threw a wave over her shoulder. “You too!”

“And tell Red Robin to stop by!”

“Will do!”

She hummed lightly and ducked into an ally. “Spots off,” she said. She opened her jacket pocket and let Tikki fly in. She’d stopped using her purse to hold the kwami a few years back when a guy had attempted to steal it and she’d nearly given away her identity trying to get it back. Besides, she never had to open her pocket, so there was no stress when she was paying for something.

She pulled a normal yoyo from her pocket and started playing with it as she walked out the other side.

Marinette glanced up and grinned as she spotted the familiar yellow and black outfits. Signal, Orphan, and Queen Bee had recently started doing daytime patrols. Crime had dramatically decreased since, and Bruce was more than a little bitter that he hadn’t thought about it.

She gave a tiny wave and grinned when they sent some of their own. Marinette had given up on trying to keep the fact that she was friends with pretty much every vigilante in Gotham a secret. It turns out you don’t have to worry about people coming after you to hurt your powerful friends when they are, in fact, afraid of said powerful friends.

She heard her phone go off in her pocket and grinned. Also, the publicity was amazing for her business. That was also good.

~

She grinned and opened a portal under herself, dropping into the Siren’s living room.

“Hey, darlin’,” said Harley, who was far too used to this by now to even blink.

“Kid’s here?” Asked a Catwoman from the kitchen.

“No. I was talking to the plants,” said Harley sarcastically.

Poison Ivy glanced up from watering her plants. “Hilarious. But please do, they grow better when you talk to them every day.”

Catwoman sighed. “Whatever. What do you want to eat, kid?”

Marinette plopped down on the couch. “I’m not a kid. I wasn’t even a kid when you met me.”

“Oh?”

“Yes!”

“Then why don’t you tell us your identity to prove it?”

She rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Catwoman. “Do I look like I’m under eighteen?”

“Do I look like I’m older than thirty?” Catwoman retorted. When she saw the small smirk forming on Marinette’s face she quickly cut her off: “Don’t answer that.”

She huffed. “Think about it. It’s been ten years, do you really think I was eight when we met?”

“Who knows. Human kids all look the same to me.”

Marinette groaned. “I’m not -- you know what? I don’t care anymore.”

“You do, though,” cooed Harley.

A scowl made its way onto her face. “Whatever. Can I use the misty-thingy?”

Poison Ivy handed it over and Marinette spritzed Catwoman. The woman hissed and batted it away.

“I’m choosing dinner,” she said dangerously as she disappeared to the kitchen.

Marinette fought between the instincts to laugh and curse, handing the spritzer back to Poison Ivy. She rested her head on Harley’s lap and smiled to herself as the woman started to braid her hair.

“We still on for that raid on Sunday?” Asked Poison Ivy.

“Sure. I’ll see if I can get Red Hood to go.”

Harley laughed. “I’m sure Batman wouldn’t be too happy about that.”

“Has that ever stopped him before?”

“True, true.”

Catwoman emerged with what looked like a burnt brick. She dropped a plate of it onto Marinette’s lap.

“Eat up, kid.”

She went a little pale as she stared at the food in front of her.

“Well, you see, about that...” She opened a portal under herself and disappeared.

~

She heard a click from her earpiece and flicked it on.

“Right, found one. Looks like a normal mugging,” said Jason.

“Location?” Asked Damian.

Jason gave his general area and sighed. “Right. I’m heading in.”

She listened in on the fight as she hopped from rooftop to rooftop.

Ever since Dick had taken up the Batman mantle (Bruce had, for the most part, retired), he’d made a few changes to patrols.

The first thing he’d done was make it mandatory that they communicate when and where they were getting in fights and transmit the audio. There had been the usual amount of backlash that arises when the bats are asked to do something for their own good, but they’d stopped complaining that it wasn’t necessary when Tim had walked into the manor for coffee with a knife sticking out of his side.

(She was pretty sure that he’d done that on purpose, but whatever.)

Next, he’d set up rotations so people actually got sleep some nights. They switched between two teams. The first (and best) was made up of Jason, Marinette, and Damian. The rest of the time it would be Dick, Tim, and -- occasionally -- Bruce. Most criminals opted for nights with the second team. She never could figure out why --.

They heard the click of Jason’s gun and Dick’s voice cut in: “Don’t kill them!”

Jason scoffed. “What’re you gonna do if I do?”

“I… Mari, tell him not to kill them.”

“Jason --,” she began.

“I’ll buy you a coffee.”

“-- is a grown adult who can make his own decisions.”

She could practically feel Jason’s smirk as Dick cursed.

“Damn, why are you so easy to buy? I’ll... um…”

Bruce cut in: “I’ll build a Starbucks in the room next to yours.”

Her eyes widened. “Jason, if you pull that trigger I will never talk to you again.”

“You wouldn’t be able to stay away.”

“Try me.”

There was a short silence and then the click of a safety turning back on. Jason mumbled about how it wasn’t fair, along with a lot of other colorful things.

Marinette, however, was grinning.

~

She slipped into the house and yawned.

Damian looked up from where he was petting Chaton on the couch.

She raised her eyebrows. “Not even gonna detransform?”

He sunk into his hooded jacket. “It’s comfy.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Whatever, give me my cat back.”

“He’s our cat.”

She huffed. “He’s my cat. Give him back.”

“Why don’t we let him choose?”

She scoffed lightly and crossed her arms over her chest. “Not while you’re still Kitten.”

“I told you to call me BatCat!”

“And I told you that I’d rather you beat me to death with a spoon.”

He stuck his tongue out at her and detransformed. They set the cat between the two of them and made cooing noises.

Chaton went to Damian without even sparing her a glance.

“Traitor,” she murmured.

Both of their phones went off and they checked them.

Ah. The Thesmartones chat. It included Riddler and every bat except for Dick

The partners both groaned and opened the chat.

Riddleboye: Can one of you test my new escape room?

Her phone blew up and she glanced at the different chat. Whohastodoriddlersriddlethistime.

Queenbee: Not it

Therealdamianwayne: Not it.

Bruecbrucewayne: not it

Redhoodiewastaken: not it :)

Brucesfavorite: not it

Coffeeismygirlfriendmarinetteismywife: Not it!

Imsurroundedbyidiots: Not it

She groaned when she realized she was the only one who hadn’t done it yet.

Notsleepingwasaconsciousdecision: i hate you all

Damian had the audacity to laugh. She sent him a tiny glare and kicked him in the side. He cursed and she was only saved from his wrath by the cat currently resting on his stomach.

She went back to the original chat.

Notsleepingwasaconsciousdecision: im free monday night

Riddleboye: Thanks!

Notsleepingwasaconsciousdecision: its fine see you then

~

She raised her eyebrows as she stepped into the room and saw Tim awake, clicking away at his laptop. This wasn’t exactly new (far from it, really) but it was still sometimes, somehow, surprising.

She changed into her now well-worn hoodie and crawled into bed. She picked up her newest project, a new costume for Red Hood, and started stitching.

He wrapped an arm around her and drew her close so he could type.

She rested her head against his chest. She stitched in time with his heartbeat.

Her eyes glanced over his screen and she sighed lightly. “No information yet?”

He shook his head. “Nope, still don’t know how to help lower his cortisol levels back to normal. There’s nothing on it.”

“Yeah, it’s almost as if no one else on Earth has Scarecrow’s problem.”

This earned an eye roll. He closed the many tabs on cortisol inhibitors and pulled up a spreadsheet for work. “It’s always ‘reduce stress!’ and ‘take fish oil!’ and other things that we’ve already tried.”

“Yeah, but there’s nothing else we can do. We just have to hope that his therapist can help him work through it.” She blinked. “That reminds me: Linda said that you need to see her.”

“But I don’t have to see her again until Wednesday!”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s Thurs -- actually…” She checked her phone. “Friday. It’s Friday.”

Tim cursed. “So, that’s what I forgot.”

“What, the weekday or the therapy session?”

“Both.”

She rolled her eyes.

He pulled away slightly for a second to grab his drink and then handed her a coffee. “Behold. Just the way you like it.”

A blush rose to her cheeks as she took it from him. “Oh, sweetie, you shouldn’t have!”

“Don’t worry about it. I was already making some for myself and yours isn’t hard to make.”

She grinned. “It’s going to be easier to get from now on. I told you I could get Bruce to buy us a coffee shop.”

He huffed and rested his chin atop her head. “Shut up.”

“Eloquent.” She teased. “Anyways, I think I’ve achieved favorite kid status.”

Tim laughed. “Please, bean. You’re not even his favorite daughter. Remember that time he bought Cass an entire police station’s equipment?”

She rolled her eyes and set down her project so she could cross her arms over her chest. “Shut up.”

“Eloquent,” he said, a cheeky grin on his face.

She laughed and tipped her head back to press a kiss to his lips. “I’ve decided I’m getting a divorce.”

He finally set his computer down, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her onto his lap. “You wouldn’t. You love me.”

She smiled and reached up, cupping his cheeks in her hands. “I do.”

Marinette pulled him down for another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> I should be updating every day from 9-11 Central Time on tumblr, but on this... we'll just have to find out I guess <3


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